Tragedy 02: Tragedy On The Landing Pad
by Jade-Max
Summary: The assassination attempt on Padmé has succeeded and she died on the landing pad in "Attack of the Clones"; Anakin, upon hearing the news, find comfort from an unexpected source. An Anakin & Barriss fic. Complete
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: It's George's sandbox; I'm simply destroying the sandcastles**

**Title:** Tragedy on the Landing Pad

**Author:** Jade-Max

**Genre:** Angst & Romance

**Timeframe:** AotC AU

**Summary:** The assassination attempt on Padmé has succeeded and she died on the landing pad; Anakin, upon hearing the news, find comfort from an unexpected source. An Anakin & Barriss fic.

**Author's Note: **I've had many requests to post this here, so I will be doing so as I edit the chapters for the site. Shouldn't take very long...

* * *

><p><strong>Tragedy on the Landing Pad<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Part 1<strong>

_"It is with a heavy heart and trembling lips that I bring to you the news of the tragic assassination of Senator Padmé Amidala of Naboo. This morning, while arriving at great peril to herself, her transport was hit with an explosion that killed everyone on the landing pad. Senator Amidala was known for her strength of character and conviction and was willing to place her duty as a Senator representing her people above all other concerns; including her own life." _

_The Chancellor stopped, bowing his head as if overcome by grief. The Senate hall sat in silence at the Chancellor's words. Padmé had been well known, well loved and, while she had her enemies they respected her. Palpatine finally looked up, and those closest to him could see that it appeared a heavy burden had been added to his shoulders. _

_"No one will miss Senator Amidala more than I. But we cannot let tragedies like these continue. No Senator, no voice in this Republic should live in fear of going unheard. To __honor__ her memory and in the light of all that has occurred, I urge the Senate to take the vote she gave her life to attend..."_

Anakin Skywalker stared at the holo-news cast in stunned silence, his brain unable to process the information in any coherent fashion.

Padmé.

Assassinated.

Beautiful, angelic Padmé; he still remembered her, still thought of her; could still see her in his mind's eye as the beautiful young woman who'd entered Watto's shop and spoke to him. Her voice had been musical, a balm to ears that heard little more than Huttese all day; ears that had been clipped when he'd been bad. She's been beauty in a world sadly lacking in it; rain in the desert.

And now she was dead.

He turned from the news-cast, unable to bear watching the Senate deal with the loss so expeditiously. He was shocked; appalled by their callous disregard for the life of one of their own. But there was business to be done, motions to pass into law.

Life went on.

He swept from the room, unaware of the gazes that followed him. Stalking through the halls of the Jedi temple - he'd only just returned from Ansion with Obi-Wan - he headed for the training salles. He was numb inside, his grief for the young woman he'd known and admired from afar a hollow ache in the pit of his stomach. One he couldn't yet express and didn't really know how to.

So he would train.

He shrugged out of his tunic when he arrived, hanging it on the supplied peg, and pulled his lightsaber from his belt. Without thought for how he must appear clad only in his leggings, he sprang into the middle of the room. The lightsaber twirled in his hands, up down, left right, the motions to fast for the human eye to follow.

Anakin's thoughts focused, coalesced into unity, his sadness for the loss of someone he'd considered a friend, driving him through a rigorous routine. Few could keep up with him; he knew that. Only his Master Obi-Wan Kenobi had ever managed to go through several rounds and win.

But Anakin wasn't facing a real opponent.

He was facing the death of silent dreams and hopes, the knowledge that his path would never again cross Padmé's. His lightsaber came down in a powerful attack move, a blur of color against white-washed walls.

And stopped.

Anakin was jolted out of his dark thoughts by the unexpected jarring that ran through his arms. His gaze came back into focus as the blue blade that had intercepted his twirled in a basic move and pushed his lightsaber aside. Two eyes came into focus; surrounded by a line of distinctive tattoos he'd have recognized anywhere.

"Barriss." Anakin lowered his lightsaber, small beads of perspiration only beginning to form on his chest. His voice was strained; unnatural.

Barriss kept her blade in the en-garde stance, but her gaze held compassion. "I understand you lost someone close to you today."

"Just someone I knew."

The healer in Barriss saw through the lie immediately. She could see that Anakin had held the Senator from Naboo in high regard; in fact, it appeared he'd idolized her. And now, tragically, she was gone. "Grief is a dangerous thing, Anakin."

His eyes narrowed. "What do you know of grief? What do any Jedi know of grief?" His words were soft, barely a hiss between his teeth, his hand clenching about his lightsaber, the blade wavering in his hand, twitching as if looking to do battle. At least, battle with a foe he understood.

"Jedi may rejoice in another becoming one with the Force." Barriss' words held little comfort. "But that does not mean we do not feel grief. That we do not mourn. Fight me."

"I'll hurt you." He didn't want to risk that; he'd just lost one friend, he wasn't about to risk another at the end of his own blade.

She struck at him, and he automatically raised his lightsaber to block. "Fight me, Anakin. Let go; give yourself a chance to heal!"

He backed away, parrying her attacks easily. "It's not that simple."

"It is if you let it be. You don't think your Master grieved when Qui-Gon died?"

Anakin felt like she'd slapped him. "Obi-Wan wouldn't..."

Barriss stepped up the tempo of her strikes, coming in left and right, forcing him to move, to draw on the Force. In drawing on it, in opening himself to the flow, he also opened himself to her. Something she could tell he was trying to avoid. Anakin's Force presence resonated with grief. Not just grief for the woman who had been killed, but the kind that comes from broken dreams. The kind that comes from regrets of what could have been, and what should be.

She struck him with a flurry of blows. "Obi-Wan is human, despite that polished exterior. All Jedi will grieve when Master Yoda finally passes into the Force; only they'll do so _in their own way._"

"Their way!" Anakin stepped into one of her blows, throwing his weight into it and her, knocking her away and off step. "The Jedi don't know how to grieve! They don't understand the definition of pain!"

Barriss regained her footing with remarkable agility, rolling with the spin and coming back from the right, forcing him to quick step to avoid having his feet removed as she came in low. She was sweating, her hair plastered to the back of her neck, the sides of her face. But the compassionate look in her eyes never wavered; never changed.

Anakin let out an incoherent yell and came at her with speed and strength she had no hope of matching. She gave ground, deflecting the blows, using her superior agility to avoid those she couldn't, Anakin's lightsaber passing bare inches from her skin. His eyes smoldered with suppressed rage and pain, the powerful emotions feeding the ferocity of his attack.

Barriss felt the first stirrings of concern for her own safety; Anakin didn't appear to be in control of himself. She focused on the Force and jumped neatly away, flipping in mid air to block his furious strike, and landing half a room away.

"Look at yourself, Anakin!"

"What do you know?"

She gestured to him forcefully. "You're out of control. What - do you want to hurt me too?"

"You don't understand! You can't."

"I know you're hurting. I know you're in pain. Let me help you." Her gaze softened. "I _want_ to help you; I _want_ to understand."

Her soft, passionate words seemed to penetrate the darkness that was eating away inside him. His shoulders slumped and his lightsaber dropped from suddenly nerveless fingers. He fell to his knees, appearing to crumple, his hands covering his face as he slumped forward.

Barriss didn't think; she reacted.

At the first sign of his break, she darted forward. She slid to her knees, catching him in her arms as he slumped forward. Silent, heaving sobs racked his frame. His arms came around her, his hands gripping her waist in an almost bruising fashion as he clung to her, his face buried in her shoulder.

Barriss' eyes filled with empathetic tears as his feelings swept over her, released from their carefully controlled cage. Her shoulder grew damp as his tears soaked her shirt. She clutched him tighter, saying nothing as she let her hands talk for her. She stroked his hair and rubbed his back, pulling the image of comfort from the jumble of emotional images surrounding his thoughts. He reacted as she'd hoped, giving in more, letting the grief pour forth more naturally, his sobs coming in great heaving gasps.

She didn't know how long they sat their, Anakin clutching her as if she were the last thing he had to keep his sanity; and she didn't care.

His sobs slowly quieted, though the shuddering through his frame continued. Barriss continued to stroke his hair, the warmth of his skin making her palm tingle as her hands gently rubbed his back. Anakin pulled away reluctantly, her hand falling from his hair to the side of his face.

Anakin grasped it as she made to move away, keeping it pressed to his face. His eyes were red-rimmed and puffy from his grief, his face slightly swollen, and her heart went out to him. He turned his head, his gaze never leaving hers, and placed a single, gentle kiss in the palm of her hand.

Barriss watched him, her hand twitching as his lips touched it. Then his lips moved, still against her palm and she would have jumped if she'd had the ability. Instead she just felt like jelly.

"Thank you, Barriss." Anakin released her hand and wiped his face, the tear lines still visible despite the lack of moisture. "I'm sorry about..." he gestured to her shirt.

"It's alright, you needed it." She searched his face questioningly. "Are you going to be alright?"

He nodded, his throat tight, feeling more weary than he had in his life. "I think I just need some sleep. I'm sorry if I scared you."

Her answering smile was relieved. "Just remind me to never cross blades with you in actual combat." She pushed unsteadily to her feet and offered him her hand. "Here; I'll walk you to your quarters."

He took her hand, rising to his feet with a Force-assisted pull, and looked down at her. Gently, hesitantly as if he didn't know how she's react, his fingers lifted to brush a strand of hair from her face and tuck it back around her ear. "Will you stay with me?"

She had the distinct feeling her wasn't just asking for her company. She regarded his pained expression and her indecision melted. She extended her hand to him. "Yes, Anakin. I will stay with you."

He took her proffered hand and let himself be led back to his tunic and out of the training salle. Somehow, with Barriss' help, he knew he would get beyond his grief.

* * *

><p>Anakin palmed open the door to the dual room she shared with Obi-Wan and stepped inside. Barriss entered behind him, pausing for the barest of seconds on the threshold. She felt nervous, almost as if in coming inside the small room she'd agreed to his unspoken request. Anakin's hand was still clasped in hers and his fingers tightened knowingly around hers.<p>

Barriss felt his reassurance; he was trying to tell her not to be afraid, that things were going to be alright. She wanted to laugh, but was afraid it would sound at best hollow, at worst hysterical. He stopped, turning to face her. "You don't have to stay Barriss."

"You're in no shape to be alone right now." Her counter was delivered with a nod of her head. "What kind of friend would I be if I left you alone, huh?"

Anakin stared at her for a long minute and then stepped close to her. She didn't retreat as his arms came about her, puling her close. She went willingly. She ducked her head a little to tuck it under his chin, her arms sliding under his to encircle his chest. She felt his gratitude, and the lingering edges of pain. He opened himself to her, fractionally, letting her see, letting her understand from exactly where his grief came; from which dreams and memories.

Anakin's grip was tight, but not uncomfortably so, and Barriss closed her eyes, firmly pushing all thoughts of being a Jedi out of her mind. The Jedi had no place in the grief Anakin felt for his fallen friend. The part of him that grieved wasn't a Jedi; he was a nine year old boy with a crush on a powerful woman who showed him kindness. His grief was that of a dreamer and planner; the grief of a boy caught in the body of a young man who'd never again see the woman who'd been such a focal point of his existence. A woman who'd been more perfect in his thoughts than any human could truly be.

Barriss felt Anakin begin to shake again, and clutched him tighter. His head dropped to align with hers, and they stood, ear to ear, as Anakin tried to work through the pain. Hesitantly, a little worried he'd break, she voice the first question that had come to mind with his openness.

"She called you Ani?"

He half-sobbed, half-laughed at her choice of questions. Of all the memories, she'd picked up on that particular one. "Yeah." His voice was ragged. "Don't tell anyone, I'd never... never live it down."

Barriss pulled back to look at him, smoothing the tears from one cheek with the pad of her thumb. "I wouldn't dream of it."

"Thanks." He gulped, releasing her and turning away.

Barriss followed, close on his heels, as he stopped by the couch in the small living space. He dropped onto it, stretching out gangly legs he hadn't completely grown into yet. She looked at him, frowned, and then pushed him forward. Her leg came up, sliding along his back.. Anakin looked at her shocked. "Barriss, what are you-"

"Oh relax." She shifted, sliding herself into the gap he was to stunned to make bigger. "Oof, shift forward, would you?"

Anakin did so immediately and Barriss dropped into the open space. She reached for him, dragging him backwards until he was resting with his back against her chest, his head on her shoulder. Anakin shifted to make himself more comfortable as Barriss encircled his shoulder with her arms. "That's better. So... how come you haven't talked to her in so long?"

Anakin closed his eyes, swallowing hard. "Our paths never crossed again. I thought that, maybe someday... someday the Force would bring us back together."

Barriss stroked his hair. "Maybe they still will."

He looked up at her questioningly.

Barriss shrugged. "I know she wasn't a Jedi but it's said all beings get released into the Force when they die. Maybe she'll be waiting for you."

He dropped his head in understanding. "That's a long time away."

"I hope so." Barriss poked his shoulder. "I don't expect to lose a friend of my own, Anakin."

"You won't." His promise was soft. His hands came up to encircle her forearms, hugging them close to his chest. "Thanks for being here to listen, Barriss."

"You'd do the same for me." She fell silent for a minute. "Anakin?"

"Yeah?"

Barriss hesitated. "Do you... do you think that fantasizing about someone the way you fantasized about her is against the code?"

Anakin blushed. "I sure hope not, or I'll never make Knight."

"Me either." She paused thoughtfully. "I think all Jedi need those fantasies. It helps keep us linked to the other beings in the universe and to each other. They let us know that, while we may be the guardians of the Republic and choose a solitary existence, we're still fundamentally like those we choose to protect. Does that make sense?"

"You lost me."

Barriss chuckled softly. "Forget it. I think my point is that I don't think fantasies are bad. Without them, I think we'd lose a very fundamental piece of ourselves."

"I don't know. My mother..." Anakin sighed, continuing. "My mother used to tell me to dream big, that I could be anything I wanted to be."

"What was it like, knowing your mother?"

Anakin's face softened, longing clear in his tone. "Unlike any relationship I've ever been in since. I could do anything and she wouldn't get mad at me."

Barriss raised her eyebrows. "Anything?"

Anakin nodded. "There was this one time a friend of mine and I were playing with these old vibro knives Watto had tossed away as junk. We were learning to throw them and he almost hit my mother while she was coming out with Watto's wash. I thought she was going to be so mad!" He smiled sadly at the memory. "She didn't even raise her voice. She just asked why. I told her the truth; we wanted to be able to protect everyone if Tuskan Raiders ever came near the house. She hugged me, and told me she was certain we'd succeed - and then we were told to throw the knives _away_ from the doorways."

Barriss chuckled softly. "She seems like a remarkable woman."

Anakin's face fell. "I wish she was here right now."

"Did she know Padmé?"

"She met her." Anakin's voice was soft. "I remember when mom told her that we were slaves and how appalled Padmé was. I used to have these dreams of going back and rescuing all the slaves."

"A noble goal."

"But not one I can accomplish while -" he cut himself off, taking a deep breath. "It was a kid's dream; a fantasy. Nothing more."

"What did Padmé think of your dream?"

Anakin's tone turned painful. "She called it a noble goal, but one I'd have to work hard for."

"And you have." Barriss smoothed her hand through his cropped hair. "I don't think that's a dream you should let go of, Anakin."

"You don't?"

"Everyone needs something to work towards. Rescuing your mother and the rest of the slaves from their poverty is a dream worth fighting for."

Anakin's eyes slowly closed, and he turned his head against her shoulder. "I don't want to dream anymore, Barriss. I just want to sleep."

"Why?"

He didn't open his eyes, but he didn't have to for her to feel his pain. "Because they hurt too much when they shatter and die."

Barriss cradled him against her, tucking her head close to his, and simply held him. She had no answers. Her Master might have, or maybe his, but Anakin's pain went too deep for answers. It needed empathy and understanding - not censure.

Anakin's breath feathered across her cheek. "Barriss?"

"Yes, Anakin?"

"Would you stay and keep the nightmares away?"

She could _feel_ the weariness that accompanied the request and nodded, even though his eyes remained closed. "Sleep, Anakin. I'll be here when you wake."

The barest of smiles crossed his lips as he sank into slumber.

* * *

><p>"No... Mom... no..."<p>

Barriss woke with a start, the whimper that brought her to wakefulness sending her senses into over drive. She relaxed after a moment when she sensed nothing amiss. Nothing but Anakin's apprehension; his fear. The emotion was choking, throbbing, a noxious mass that swirled from his mind like a cloud, engulfing her in utter despair.

"No... Mom!" Anakin's voice was climbing, his fear increasing.

Barriss put her hands on his forehead, hesitating for a moment when he shook his head to knock them away. She concentrated, doing it without thinking and focused on the source of that fear…

_Sun. _

_Sand._

_Blazing heat._

_A handsome older woman with brown hair. Brown hair matted with blood. A cut on her cheek. Her hands drawn, pulled tight across a combined pair of bones. Bones so large they held her weight as effectively as they held her captive._

_Blood_

_Body odor_

_Death._

_Brown robes swathed strange looking humanoids as they raised a weapon of some kind above their heads. Bodies scattered the ground around them as they moved, killing with impunity. They screamed a challenge, one turning to the trapped female, his weapon coming back and-_

"**MOM! **_**NO!**_"

Barriss' presence was catapulted back into her own mind as Anakin woke, bolting upright on the sofa. She reeled from the images, not understanding their significance except for one thing.

The brown haired woman was Anakin's mother.

Anakin was breathing hard, sweat running down his face as he fought against the fear the nightmare had caused. He clutched his chest, the weight of what he'd seen pressing down on him, suffocating his ability to think, his ability to rationalize. He had to get to her and he had to get to her _now_!

Cool hands slid over his face, gentle finger tips turning his head. The nightmare began to fade, but not the horrible implications. His mother needed him; she was in danger. He finally focused on the person in front of him and the nightmare became real all over again.

Barriss.

Padmé.

Dead.

Anakin closed his eyes, hunching forward, and Barriss pulled him close once more. He shuddered in her grasp, a tangled mix of emotions she couldn't begin to sort out. Barriss held him, but said nothing. He didn't need her words; just her touch. And so she touched him. She rubbed his back in reassurance, letting the strong, firm circles speak of her commitment to his well being. She smoothed his hair, the action one of understanding and empathy. She gently brushed silent tears from his cheeks to show her caring for his emotional state.

Anakin's recovery from the nightmare was slow.

He didn't want to relinquish the comfort he found in Barriss' arms. He didn't want to face the world or a galaxy that would take one friend from him only to allow his mother to be taken the very next day. No, she wasn't gone yet; he knew that with certainty.

"I saw, Anakin."

His head came up jerkily at Barriss' soft words. "You saw what?"

She flushed, her tattoos standing out on her cheeks. "I... You were having a nightmare and I wanted to help. So I linked my mind to yours. I saw your mother."

"You invaded-"

The door to the room sprang open suddenly, cutting off whatever accusation Anakin had been about to make, and Obi-Wan appeared in the doorway. "Anakin?"

"Master." Anakin managed to keep his indignation from his voice.

Obi-Wan stepped inside, his expression relieved. "I was worried about you, Padawan, I - Barriss?"

"Yes, Master Kenobi?"

Obi-Wan looked from one Padawan to the other. "Luminara's been looking for you. It's late."

Barriss tilted her head at a defiant angle despite her pleasant tone. Her face was clear of all but normal color for Barriss didn't feel the need to be embarrassed. She'd done nothing wrong in trying to help. "I understand that, Master, but Anakin needed me."

"Needed you." The Negotiator crossed his arms over his chest. "I see."

Anakin leaned forward, away from Barriss, and cradled his head in his hands. "It's the truth, Master. Padmé..." his voice broke. "Senator Amidala was killed today."

Obi-Wan's expression softened.

He made a motion for Barriss to leave. Barriss hesitated, torn between the ingrained obedience of following a Master's orders and the need to keep her promise to Anakin. Anakin must had felt her turmoil for his turned his head, one blue eye peeking out from between his wrist and shoulder. "I'll be alright, Barriss."

"You're sure?"

She avoided Obi-Wan's gaze. It wasn't that she questioned the Master's ability in dealing with his Padawan; it was just that Masters tended to be more reserved when things like this happened.

Anakin nodded. "I'll catch you later."

Barriss rose reluctantly, feeling the blood rushing back into legs that hadn't been used in several hours - and had been confined by Anakin's weight. She used the Force to help herself as she left the room, headed for her own bunk. But her thoughts stayed with Anakin and the disturbing dream that he'd seen; the one she'd shared.

Palming open her own quarters, Barriss stopped. "Master?"

Luminara was sitting on the only couch in the room, her gaze fastened on the doorway. "Padawan."

Barriss bit her lip. "I'm sorry, I'm late, but I-"

"It is customary to call if you're otherwise occupied, Padawan. A common courtesy, in fact."

Barriss flushed. She hadn't given her Master a second thought once she'd felt the depth of Anakin's pain. "I'm sorry. I have no excuses."

Luminara examined her Padawan carefully. "Something is bothering you."

Barriss sighed, stepping in and allowing the door to close behind her. "Yes, Master."

"And?"

It took a moment for Barriss to organize her thoughts. "Master, how is the bond between a Padawan and their Master different from a child and a parent?"

Luminara cocked her head at the young woman before her in surprise. She recovered quickly, thinking carefully about the question as she patted the couch beside her. Barriss slid into the indicated seat, watching her Master expectantly. Luminara finally spoke once more. "I suppose the difference would be in the blood relation, Barriss. Having never known my own parents, it is difficult to say. When Jedi children are brought to the temple, they learn to see all Jedi, both Knights and Masters, as parental figures. The bond between a Master and their Padawan is similar, but more like an older sibling teaching a younger one how to avoid their mistakes. Why do you ask?"

"I have been asking myself what I will feel when you die."

Luminara's eyebrows rose. Twice in one night and her Padawan had surprised her. "Relief, I should think, to finally be rid of me."

"Never!" Barriss stared at her Master appalled. "I would miss you terribly."

"Just as I would miss you. There is a deeper meaning here, I can feel it."

Barriss flushed. "Anakin lost someone dear to him today."

"The Senator from Naboo."

"Yes." Barriss paused, wondering if it was her place to share Anakin's vision, but knew she needed a different point of view. One that was objective; one that was more experienced than her own. "He also had a dream this evening."

"A dream? Jedi don't dream."

"He did." Barriss felt her mouth go dry, the emotional turmoil of Anakin's vision coming back to roil in her gut. "He dreamt of his mother."

"This was not a pleasant dream?"

"He saw her being hurt and tortured by these awful creatures."

Luminara was silent for a long moment. "Jedi don't dream."

"Could it be a Force vision?"

"It is possible, yes. But the future is always in motion; there's no telling if this particular vision will come to pass." Luminara pinned her Padawan with a look. "Did he speak to you of this?"

"Not exactly." Barriss rubbed a hand over her stomach, telling it firmly to settle down. "I was with him when he dreamt it; I shared his dream."

"And your thoughts on it?"

"It was disjointed, erratic, as if seen through the eyes of an individual caught in a maelstrom." Barriss' words were soft and contemplative. "I've never felt such fear; never thought you _could_ be so afraid. But not fear for himself; it's fear for another. He was terrified of the possibility of losing her when he's just lost someone else close to him." She lifted her head with sudden understanding. "Anakin's afraid that if he loses his mother, he loses something vital to who he is."

Luminara nodded approvingly. "And the recourse?"

"I don't know, Master. Anakin's situation is... special."

"Indeed. Perhaps the better question is - what is the desired course of action?"

"He wants to rescue her."

"And what would happen if he finds her safe and well?"

Barriss frowned. "Relief, I should think."

"Not doubt in his abilities?"

"I don't think anything could dent Anakin's belief in his abilities."

Luminara chuckled, patting her shoulder. "Well said, Barriss. It is late and time to retire. We've much to do in the morning."

Barriss watched her Master move leave. "To do, Master? We're on leave, aren't we?"

Luminara paused on the threshold of her room and turned to look back at her Padawan solemnly. "The Chancellor has asked that an honor guard escort Senator Amidala's body home to Naboo. The Council felt that Obi-Wan and Anakin would be best suited."

Barriss sucked in a sharp breath, half-pushing out of her chair. "He's not-"

Luminara's look silenced her. "Anakin is stronger than you give him credit for, Barriss. But you are correct. The council has sensed the pain Anakin is in and feels the necessity to offer him closure. You and I will be going along as part of the honor guard."

Barriss sank back down in relief, waiting until her Master had disappeared into her own room before closing her eyes and placing her face in her hands. She rubbed it firmly, trying to ease the tension in her forehead. Honor guard. It was a poorly cloaked babysitting assignment that was better suited to Anakin's Master. Yet, despite the sudden withdrawal of her much earned leave, Barriss found she didn't mind.

Anakin would need a friend, someone who could understand and empathize without the burden of higher rank. If nothing else, she was resolved to be that friend.


	2. Chapter 2

**Part 2**

Barriss had no opportunity to speak with Anakin alone at the ceremony for seeing off the Senator's body. She could feel the careful control he was exerting, could see him drawing comfort from the occasional hand Obi-Wan would lay on his shoulder.

The Chancellor spoke, his voice drifting off in certain places as if he were fighting a heavy grief. And he probably was, Barriss reflected silently, Padmé Amidala had been a fellow Nabooian. The ceremony itself was a blur, despite Luminara chiding her to pay attention. Barriss couldn't get beyond the aura Anakin was projecting.

They stood side by side and part way through it, she felt his hand grope for hers. He gripped it thankfully, and she felt the aura surrounding him shift. He'd needed the contact; that anchor. She could also feel that he was still angry with her despite his appreciation for her friendship. She only hoped they'd find time during the trip to talk and that he'd let her say her piece.

* * *

><p>"How could you do that to me, Barriss?"<p>

Anakin finally rounded on her in the mess hall of all places. They were alone, their Masters checking out the ship and crew for the third day in a row, the casket carrying the body of Senator Amidala safely tucked away in the cargo hold, and it left them to their own devices. Barriss had suggested a game of grav ball to bleed off the tension - Anakin had been hungry. They'd played gravball first, and then come to the mess hall. Anakin had beaten her soundly and she had the bruises to prove it.

"Do what?" She settled her tray on the table, knowing what he was talking about but needing to hear him confirm it. "Let you win?"

He slid the tray across from her, it banging on the table with an angry motion. She could sense his turmoil, the frustration and anger he was keeping in careful check. His emotions were radical and erratic, and she'd noticed him swinging dangerously between happiness and despair since they'd started their trip. "You know what I mean. How could you invade my dreams like that?"

Barriss picked up her fork. "Would you believe me if I said I hadn't intended to?"

"Healer Barriss not intruding?"

She flashed him an annoyed look. "I don't need your scorn, Anakin. You know as well as I do that the Force doesn't always work the way we expect it to. Are you sorry I saw?"

"Aren't you?" He shuddered, picking up his own fork and taking a bit of the small salad on the corner of her tray.

Barriss looked at him pointedly. "If you wanted greens you should have got some."

"Nah, Jedi don't need greens." He became serious almost immediately. "You can't tell me you wish you hadn't seen it."

"Jedi don't dream, Anakin."

He shivered again, as if hit by a blast of cold air. "Well, maybe I do."

"Master Luminara says-"

"You told her?"

Barriss flushed. "I couldn't very well keep it to myself!" Anakin made to rise but her hand shot out, catching his wrist. "Hear me out, Ani, please?"

He flinched, dropping back to his chair. "Don't call me that."

"I like it; I think it's cute."

He closed his eyes, and Barriss felt the despair reaching up to engulf him. "It's what... what she - what _they_ - used to call me."

"They?"

He closed his eye, resting his elbows on the table and letting his face sink into his hands. "Padmé and my... my mother."

Barriss shifted her grip, reaching across the table to run her hands along the backs of his. "It's alright to grieve, Anakin. The senator was very lucky to have a friend like you."

He didn't say anything but one of his hands shifted, sliding to cover hers and he gripped it tightly, as if it were a life line. His shoulders slumped and he seemed to be focusing on her hands, drawing strength from the contact.

"I'm sure you're mother is alright."

He jerked, his head coming up. "You can't know that."

Barriss squeezed his hand before letting go reluctantly. "And you can't know that she's not."

"You said it yourself - Jedi don't dream."

Barriss picked up her fork once more. "I'm sorry I intruded on your dreams, Anakin; I honestly didn't mean to; I just wanted to help."

He regarded her for a minute before she felt his anger slipping away. "I know that here." He tapped his head. "But here," he tapped his heart. "I feel a little violated."

She ducked her head, unable to voice the feeling of helplessness that proclamation had left her with. She stabbed into the salad, but put her fork, still full of green on the edge of her plate and pushed it away. His admission had left a sour taste in her mouth.

"Barriss?"

"I really am sorry, Anakin."

"I know." His plate followed hers and his hand reached out, palm up across the table. "Come with me."

She looked up, surprised, but his face, while holding that sadness, was open and earnest. She slid her hand into his and stood, following him out of the dining hall and into the corridor. He didn't drop her hands as they walked. "I guess I owe you an apology too."

"For what?" She found the feel of his thumb stroking the back of her hand distracting as she attempted to concentrate on his words.

"For being such a pain." He sighed; leading her down the corridors back towards the room the Jedi had been assigned. It was next to the cargo hold which held the Senator's corpse as per their assignment. "I... I think you can probably tell I don't let people get close."

She nodded, letting him lead. "I figured as much. With a memory of your mother, I can understand why."

"Without having known your own?"

She squeezed his hand. "I shared a vision with you about her. I felt your fear, and your love for her. I can't imagine what it must be like to love someone so completely."

"But you felt it."

She nodded, pulling him back as he made to go into their rooms. "I felt it. I also felt what you once felt for the Senator. Don't you think you should say goodbye?"

Anakin made to step back, but Barriss had his hand in a firm grip.

"I couldn't."

"Would you rather have an audience, Anakin?" Barriss tugged on his hand and took a step forward. They would be landing tomorrow and Anakin hadn't tried in the least to visit the body of his friend. "I promise you can cry on my shoulder if you need to."

He tugged at his hand. "I can't Barriss. I... I can't."

"You can." She turned to face him, understanding his reluctance far better than he probably thought she did. "A part of you loved her, Anakin. With the death of a dream, a new one awakens but only if you have the courage to move beyond the death of that dream, no matter how perfect."

He shuddered. "I _can't_."

She stepped close to him, wrapping her arm about his waist and leaning her head against his chest. "Then lean on me and let me help you. You're not alone, Anakin."

"It just feels..." He stopped, choking on the word.

Barriss felt him trying to control himself and squeezed him gently. "Don't think, Anakin. Just let it out. Keeping it in will only make things worse."

"I'm scared, Barriss." The admission was soft, so soft she barely caught it. His arms came up and she was suddenly squeezed into a tight, desperate embrace.

Barriss felt his quaking in her arms, his whole body shuddering as the pain and the fear threatened to engulf him once more. She lifted her head and found herself to be looking into the bluest pairs of eyes she'd ever seen. His gaze was intense, unblinking, and a tear slipped from the corner of his eye to slide down his cheek. Her breath caught, completely unprepared for her own reaction to that soulful, desperate gaze. His grip tightened and she was now flush against him, hip to hip, standing on her toes as she attempted to help him find ease.

The inappropriateness of her thoughts wasn't lost on her. There, on the other side of the bulkhead, lay the woman he'd fantasized about for ten years.

Barriss freed one hand, reaching up to catch the tear on his cheek with her finger. Her gentle touch was enough and her feet hit the floor with a jarring thud as Anakin's knees gave out, his eyes closing against the burden of grief that was tinted with fears beyond his control. Barriss folded with him, ending up seated in his lap, straddling his knees as he clung to her. He made no noise, and she doubted he ever would, as tears slipped down his cheeks. His face was buried in her shoulder, half in her hair that had been left down for comfort.

She let him cry, feeling the pain that continued to eat at him even when the tears finally stopped. He clutched her with a strength born of desperation as if afraid she too would disappear and prove only to have been a dream. She stroked his short hair, rocking back and forth slightly as she offered him comfort. "I'm here, Anakin, I'm here."

"Don't leave me, Barriss." His plea was soft, almost child-like.

"I'm not going anywhere."

Anakin lifted his head, releasing one arm to brush his hand over his eyes and his sleeve over his face. He finally looked back at her. They were close, barely centimeters separating their noses and, despite the pain, or maybe because of it, he found his gaze drawn to her lips. The need to kiss her enveloped him, replacing the pain of loss with a different kind of pain; a physical ache he had little experience with.

Barriss felt the shift in his mood, the pain subsiding to be replaced with the ache of need. She should move, or so she kept telling herself, but his eyes held her captive. Those blue eyes, a startlingly clear color she'd never seen anywhere else. Her tongue darted out to moisten her lips.

"Anakin?"

"Yeah?"

She took a deep breath, consciously aware of how bad an idea it was the moment her chest connected with his. "I think we should stand up now."

"Why?"

"You know why," she answered with a faint smile. "Loss, or so I'm told, often brings out the need for intimate contact in humans. That's not very wise."

Anakin lifted one hand to brush the hair from her shoulder and tuck the strands around her ear. "I don't want to be wise, Barriss. I'm sick of being wise. I've lost a friend, been tormented by dreams of losing my mother and been lectured by my Master about control when I want nothing more but to kiss you."

"We can't Anakin." Barriss moved, shifting backwards on his lap, but Anakin's grip tightened, dragging her back, settling her against him so their lips were almost level. His eyes mesmerized hers once more, darkening as she watched.

"Why not?"

"Attachment is forbidden."

"It's a kiss, Barriss." He managed a semi-smile that was charming for the effort. "Just one. It'll make me feel better."

She licked her lips again, tempted and knowing she was losing the battle against her own will. She tilted her head, lifting her hand to brush her thumb across his lips, her breath hitching when his tongue darted out to lick the pad. "One." Her agreement was a whisper.

Anakin shifted his hold, unable to suppress a groan as she shifted in his lap. Barriss tilted her head and closed her eyes as her lips touched his. She felt more than heard his sigh and his head shifted position. She reacted, doing the same and brought their mouths together more intimately. The tip of his tongue darted out to trace the seam of her lips and, without thinking, she opened to him, pressing herself forward in his lap, bringing herself higher and tilting his head upwards so that she was kissing him. Anakin's hands held her in place, splayed against her back as Barriss ravaged his mouth with gentle teeth, lip and tongue.

She finally pulled away, fighting for breath, and found her head was spinning. Her heart was pounding, echoing in her head, and she could feel her hands shaking as she shifted her grip against him. His arms were shaking as she was let gingerly down from her superior position.

_What a kiss!_

She blushed, wondering if she'd really just climbed all over him like that. The flush on his face indicated she had. She waited until her breathing and heart were back to some semblance of normal before she tried to speak. "Feel better?"

He laughed, but choked on it, his forehead coming forward to gently lean against hers. "Much. But worse in others."

"Same here." Barriss joined him in a shaky laugh and made to move away again, but Anakin's hands flexed on her waist.

"Don't go yet."

"I don't think we-"

"Barriss."

Barriss stiffened, her head coming around at the even tones of her Master. "Master!"

Luminara was observing them with veiled interest, but Barriss could sense her Master's displeasure. "It is not customary to climb on ones colleagues, Padawan. Some cultures even consider it rude."

Anakin laughed; the first real laugh Barriss had heard since the news of Padmé's death four days ago.

Luminara arched her eyebrows. "You find something funny, Padawan Skywalker?"

"Yes, Master."

"Enlighten me."

Anakin coughed, composing himself, and helped Barriss slide off his lap. She rose to her feet shakily, still reeling inside from his kiss, and offered him her hand. Anakin accepted and she helped pull him to his feet. He slouched a little, adjusting the fabric of his long jerkin over his waist and thighs. "I apologize, Master Luminara."

"For what, Anakin?"

"For monopolizing your apprentice."

"There is much Barriss can learn from you, Anakin. I trust her time with you isn't wasted."

Barriss flushed, making her tattoos stand out on her cheeks, unable to look at either her Master or Anakin. Anakin answered, but the sadness had crept back into his tone. "Barriss is teaching me at the moment, Master. It would seem I have a problem letting go."

"It is not unexpected." Luminara pinned Barriss with a look. "But, this trip is for healing so we must promote it. Would you like to join us for meditation? Obi-Wan is otherwise occupied but has suggested some peace and quiet might benefit you."

"I would be honored, Master."

* * *

><p>Anakin's meditation session with Luminara and Barriss was a disaster. He was unable to concentrate on anything beyond what had transpired between him and Barriss in the corridor. He tried; he really did, but after an hour of inhaling the elusive scents in their quarters, all of which reminded him of Barriss, he'd taken his leave and returned to the quarters he shared with Obi-Wan.<p>

Reclining on his bunk, Anakin slid his hands behind his head and took a deep breath as he resolutely closed his eyes. He tried to blank his mind, to sleep; he hadn't slept well since news of Padmé's death had reached him. In addition, nightmares about his mother plagued him when nightmares about Padmé weren't.

He focused himself elsewhere, shying away from it and brought to mind the events of that morning. His mouth tilted into a bewildered half-smile as he did, marvelling at the range of emotions she'd drawn from him. His mind was reeling, his lips still tingled - even his scalp tingled.

Barriss' kiss hadn't been anything like the previous stolen pecks from amorous admirers. Those had been swift, stolen from cheek and lip like shadows; he'd barely felt them, barely recognized them. He'd been kissed by dozens of women, dozens of girls, none of whom he could have recollected with a name or a face. He'd grown to accept that girls his age found him attractive, even if he'd secretly been holding out the hope of meeting Padmé again now that he was older.

But that hope had been dashed by the report of her death on the landing pad. He felt the surge of grief that accompanied the thought, but it wasn't as powerful as it had been, didn't hold him in thrall like it had before. Barriss' company and, yes, her kiss, had warmed him and filled him in a way he'd not expected. There was a pleasant glow that accompanied the touch of her hands, the taste of her lips and the smell of her hair.

He supposed it wasn't surprising considering the circumstances. Barriss had commented on the need for physical intimacy with the news of the death of a loved one. But was that all it was? Was Barriss simply a distraction, a way of moving past his grief? He frowned, opening his eyes to stare at the ceiling. He didn't think so; he hoped not. He'd never really thought about Barriss as anything more than a colleague, a fellow Padawan - but one he could relax with.

And now? Now indeed. The now was harder to answer. He didn't know. All he knew was that her presence here was the only thing that kept him from rash action; she was his anchor in the emotional storm that had become his life. The one thing that helped keep him sane with his world set to crumble about him.

She was the one person he trusted implicitly, a fact that disturbed him almost as much as her kiss had.

* * *

><p>Barriss waited anxiously after Anakin left them, struggling to maintain the core of inner focus so crucial to meditation and failing abysmally. She was nervous, on edge and just waiting for her Master to say something.<p>

But the expected lecture never came.

Luminara appeared content to remain in a deep, peaceful meditation and forget that the incident had never occurred.

Barriss, who was struggling with emotions she'd never before experienced, felt edgy in ways she didn't understand. When Anakin had been in the room, her concentration had been focused on him. She heard every breath, felt her skin bump when he was watching her; she almost believed she could hear his heart beat.

Then he'd left, leaving her to question her sanity. What had she been thinking allowing him to kiss her? Finally, the silence getting to her, she gave up pretending to meditate and broached the subject herself. She needed answers and advice. "Master?"

Luminara didn't look up from where she sat, her eyes closed, her posture relaxed. "Yes, Barriss?"

"Are you upset with me?"

"For what?"

"For my... actions with Anakin today."

Luminara's eyes opened. "For climbing on him?" She looked more amused than angry.

Barriss winced. That was only half of it. "Yes."

"I'm not upset, no."

"But you're not pleased either."

"Attachments, as you know, are forbidden for Jedi. It is not that I am not pleased. I am concerned."

"I'm not getting attached to him, Master, if that is your concern."

"No?" Luminara's gaze was searching and Barriss had the distinct feeling her Master saw something she couldn't yet see herself. "I know you and Anakin formed a professional working relationship on Ansion. Since that mission you've become fixated on him. I am not surprised to have found you kissing."

Barriss flushed, dropping her gaze. She'd been hoping her Master hadn't seen that particular part of their embrace.

Luminara continued her voice still even, holding no censure. "What surprised me was the intensity behind the action. Jedi are not forbidden to indulge in their baser urges, in fact there would likely be mutiny if the council even suggested such a move. Each Jedi is tasked with controlling themselves and their natural drives. You must understand, Barriss, that you are a young woman in the throes of her first passions. Anakin Skywalker is a young man in the same situation. Ordinarily I would offer you no advice; the choice would be yours to continue or desist."

"But?"

"There is more emotion behind your actions than curiosity. It concerns me."

Barriss didn't lift her head as she carefully turned the words over in her mind. The emotions she'd felt the moment Anakin's lips had touched hers had included curiosity, but hadn't been limited to it. Her Master was right. Her actions with Anakin had been motivated by emotion, something she didn't dare risk continuing if she wanted to achieve her status as Jedi Knight. She couldn't afford the entanglement.

But, even as she resolved to avoid it, a small voice was whispering in the back of her mind.

_It's already too late._

* * *

><p>The cargo hold was dark beyond the small access door and Anakin hesitated on the threshold, wondering if he'd lost his mind. He'd told Barriss he couldn't do this with her present, but he hadn't thought he'd be able to do it alone either.<p>

But he had to.

Taking a deep, steadying breath, Anakin hit the ring lights. They came on slowly, softly illuminating the outer walls of the cargo hold and casting shadows over the empty spaces between him and his objective. The large, black casket with the glass face plate, darkened just enough that - without the lights from the inside - he would never be able to see in.

Anakin hesitated again, just inside the cargo hold, the door sliding shut behind him. _Breathe_, he told himself silently, making certain he took a deep, steady breath and letting it out. _Now walk. Right foot. Left foot. Right foot. Left foot._ He moved his feet reluctantly.

He didn't want to be here; didn't want to acknowledge what being here could possibly mean, but he didn't want to be in the quarters he shared with Obi-Wan either. His Master was an observant, if stern, man and would note his discomfort immediately. And the last thing Anakin needed was another of Obi-Wan's lectures about loss, attachments being forbidden and the Force.

Anakin's steps were slow as he made his way towards the coffin. He stopped beside it, reaching out to place the tips of his fingers against the burnished wood that made up the most of the panels. Because of the extensive damage done during the bombing, only Padmé's head had been left to view and it had taken nearly seventeen hours to get that much. Anakin shuddered, the wood cool to the touch, as if the coldness echoed in his heart and soul.

He moved forward, drawn. He needed to see her, to know that he wasn't grieving for nothing. The switches on the side of the sealed coffin were within reach as he moved up the side, his fingers finding them as easily - as if they'd been placed there for his convenience. But then, he couldn't bring himself to part with the wood, as if in doing do he would lose something he didn't know he had. The lights ringing the interior plate glass, clear as crystal once illuminated, reflected off the flawless complexion of alabaster skin.

Anakin closed his eyes at the first glance, turning his face away as if to deny the input of his senses. But he couldn't. Her image followed him, haunted him. Pale lips, artificially colored and a mockery of life, were burned into his retinas.

He turned to look once more, tears welling in his eyes as he took in the still, silent face of the woman who had haunted his dreams for so long. Her dark curls, what was left of them, arrange so artfully if he hadn't know she'd lost most of her hair in the blast, he'd have thought nothing of it. A bruise, carefully concealed and barely visible on the side of her face where shrapnel had been pulled from her skin. He took it all in, noting, even as he did so, that her eyes remained closed.

_Look at me._

His thoughts were unbidden, the words too much to choke out past a throat closed by tears. He wanted her to look at him. He wanted to see her brown eyes just once more. Eyes that filled with excitement and joy; expressive eyes that spoke of her strengths and weaknesses. Eyes that held him in thrall with no more than a sparkle or quirk of an eyebrow.

Just once.

But her eyes remained closed.

Anger was swift to follow. _You left me, Padmé._ The tears that clouded his eyes didn't fall, held back by force of will as his free hand clenched, belying the tenderness with which he caressed the casket. _You were my hero, my beacon. You left me here, alone, without you; I need your guidance, your example. I need to know your goodness is out there somewhere. That there's a goodness worth fighting for!_

"You shouldn't be here."

Anakin whirled to find himself standing face to face with a woman who looked enough like Padmé to pass as her at a glance. His heart lurched painfully in his chest. She wasn't Padmé. He could see that immediately, his right hand still firmly planted on the top of the casket that bore her body. It wasn't the soft fall of the decoy's hair, or the sorrow in her eyes that drew his gaze - it was the blaster she had pointed at his forehead.

Anakin swallowed hard, unable to blink back the tears coating his lashes as he fought to speak. "She-"

The blaster twitched.

"You're Anakin Skywalker."

He nodded, feeling as if he were the little boy he'd been when he'd last seen Padmé. A tear slipped from the corner of his eye and slid down his cheek. The woman staring at him, obviously one of her handmaidens, brought an ache to his chest. He'd seen her lying lifelessly inside the coffin, and here, before him, was a woman who had served her faithfully until the day she'd died. "I-" He stopped, his throat closing, choking off whatever he'd been about to say.

The blaster slowly lowered as the woman before him seemed to come to some kind of a decision about his intentions. "Milady spoke of you fondly, Anakin. Of the little boy who befriended her and called her an Angel."

Anakin bowed his head, a ragged sob tearing loose from his throat. His clenched hand covered his mouth as he squeezed his eyes shut in an effort to stem the powerful emotions the memory evoked. He'd been young, so young, but he had known even that that Padmé had been special. And now she was dead. Dead because she believed in what she fought for enough to risk her life for it.

Cool hand slid around his own. Calluses of working hands were rough against his knuckles as he leaned against the coffin for strength. The hands gently slid lower, tilting his head up gently. "Anakin."

He opened his eyes, watching the Handmaiden's image shimmer through a veil of tears. He inhaled raggedly, sobs he didn't dare voice burning in his throat. He couldn't bear the thought of Padmé being gone. "I can't."

She squeezed his hands tightly. "You can because you will, Jedi Skywalker."

"I'm not-"

She arched her eyebrows at him. "You will be. Milady said it would be so; and so it will be."

"She never-"

The Handmaiden smiled sadly, stopping his protest. "Attachments are forbidden to a Jedi. She would never have interfered in your training, but she valued your friendship. I see that value was not lost on you. I can only offer you our apologies that we were unable to protect her."

Anakin blinked, seeing for the first time the puffiness around the Handmaiden's eyes, the paleness of her skin. She looked as if she hadn't stopped crying since Padmé had died - and like she had no more tears to shed. Drawn to the signs he couldn't help but notice how she trembled, or that her words weren't quite steady. He heard the pain underlying every syllable and he understood.

The Handmaidens had known Padmé far better than he ever had and they had willingly risked their lives for her out of love. They deserved their privacy and their grief. Not because they'd failed, but for the loss of a friend. Anakin squeezed the Handmaiden's hands back and managed a small, watery smile. "I know you did everything in your power to protect her; she knew that too. I also know she would never have been talked out of the choice she'd made. Don't blame yourself, Handmaiden. Padmé made her choice."

The Handmaiden stared at him, as if seeing him for the first time. She said nothing, only reached into her pocket and pulled out a small pendant attached to a rough piece of leather. She lifted it and looped it around his fingers, entwining the cord between them. "Milady wanted to ensure you got this back if anything happened to her, Anakin. May the Force be with you."

Anakin's gaze locked on the pendant in his hand as the Handmaiden disappeared back into the shadows of the cargo bay. He turned, not quite believing his eyes as the small pendant on the leather thong rotated slowly, catching the lights and reflecting off the lovingly polished surface. His throat tightened again as he caught the pendant in his hand and collapsed on top of her coffin, sobbing silently, his shoulder shaking as he poured out his grief.

Clutched tightly in his hand was the Japor snippet he'd given to her ten years ago to grant her good fortune.

* * *

><p>Barriss found Anakin the following morning. He'd not slept the night before and she could tell by the shadows that hung under his eyes. He stood beside Padmé's coffin, speaking to her softly, the sorrow having disappeared to be replaced with the ache of regret and acceptance. His hand was splayed across the wooden top, just shy of the glass, his voice a murmur that carried no further than the deaf ears of the woman inside.<p>

Barriss hesitated, wondering if she should intrude when Anakin finally seemed to be moving past his grief.

He looked up, sensing her presence despite his focus, and smiled wearily. Barriss felt her resolve to leave him be melt like sweets in the sun. It was a smile that spoke of demons faced and if not conquered, at least controlled.

"Good morning; Obi-Wan's looking for you."

He cocked his head at her. "Not even a 'how are you this morning Anakin, you look like hell.'?"

Barriss grinned. At least he knew it. "Good morning Anakin," she replied dutifully, moving towards him at a slow pace and keeping her voice soft. "You look like hell this morning. How do you feel?"

Anakin looked back to his companion, smiling down at her through the glass of the coffin. "Better. Padmé and I had a long discussion last night."

Barriss felt her heart do a funny skip in her chest. "Oh really?"

Anakin nodded, his eyes never leaving the peaceful face behind the glass. "She's a very good listener; but she knows I won't be able to follow where she's going. Not yet anyway."

"Does that bother you?"

Anakin shook his head, finally turning away from the coffin to face Barriss completely. "Not as much as it used to. Padmé says I'm a fool."

Barriss looked at him in surprise. "Padmé says?"

He nodded. "Living in the past is dangerous. It could drag me down, weighing my soul with broken dreams, hurts and resentments that would only eat me alive. I have to let her go or risk my future for a might have been."

Barriss wondered if he'd hit his head too hard on something. "I see. Did Padmé have any more words of wisdom?"

"Just one."

"Only one?"

Anakin frowned and held out his hand. From it dangled the strangest carving that Barriss had ever seen. But, despite its simplicity, the charm and warmth of whomever had created it, and the loving care it had received, came through clearly. His hand trembled, causing the pendant to shake on the plain leather thong. "She wanted me to give you this."

Barriss made no move to take it. "I never knew her; why me?"

Anakin's hand remained outstretched, the Japor snippet hanging from his fingers. He met her gaze. "Because she no longer needs it. It's supposed to bring good fortune."

Barriss almost laughed, but Anakin looked so serious she couldn't. "Anakin, a pendant doesn't make or hold luck. What is it, really?"

Anakin's hand slowly lowered and the Japor snippet was tucked out of sight his palm, his hand clenched tightly around it. He broke eye contact, half-turning away. "Nothing. Forget it."

Barriss reached out to stop him, grabbing a hold of his arm. "Don't shut me out, Anakin. What is it?"

He didn't turn, but didn't make any move to leave either. "It was a bad idea, forget it."

Barriss moved to stand in front of him, somehow knowing he wouldn't turn to look at her. He avoided eye contact despite her attempts. "Why is it so important to you that I have that trinket?"

His eyes flashed and his head came up with a snap.

Barriss stood her ground. "Help me understand, Anakin."

His lips thinned and she could see he was fighting with himself. She waited, patiently, knowing no amount of pushing would get what she wanted. His shoulders finally slumped. "It was the only thing I ever gave her, the only present I could."

Barriss managed not to show her surprise but only barely. "It was a gift to Padmé?"

He nodded sadly. "One of her Handmaidens returned it to me last night. I thought maybe... I thought..."

"I'm not Padmé, Anakin."

"I know that."

"Do you?" Barriss searched his face, her heart squeezing painfully. She was too close to the situation and she knew it. But she couldn't just up and leave him, not when he needed her, no matter how much it would hurt her later. She could deal with hurt, or so she hoped.

He nodded, his expression forlorn. "I can't keep it."

"So bury it with her." Barriss nodded to the casket. "It belonged to her; it was your gift to her. There's no reason for you to keep it. Maybe in parting with it a second time you can let go of your grief for her."

"But - the Handmaiden said Padmé wanted me to have it."

She smiled faintly. "And what are you going to do with the gift a little boy gave to the first person who truly befriended him? A gift that was given as a sign of hope for the future - you know if you hold on to it, it will only cause you pain."

He held out the hand that hadn't relaxed around the snippet. "Keep it for me, then? Until I'm able to deal with the pain and move beyond it?"

Barriss was sorely tempted to tell him a flat out no. It twisted her heart in a funny way to know he wanted to hold on to something so trivial - and yet so important. No attachments. If she'd ever seen Anakin attached to anything, this was it. Her hand came up slowly, carefully and his relief was clear as he dropped the snippet, band and all, into her hand. Barriss stared at the small pendant in her hand, not exactly certain what possessed her to take it.

"When you ask me for it, Anakin, there will be no shadows of grief and no remembered pain in your eyes. You won't get it back otherwise."

He folded her fingers over it and brought her hand to his lips. Barriss froze as his lips gently brushed the backs of her fingers, and her lips tingled, remembering the _other_ kiss. She moistened her suddenly dry lips with the tip of her tongue. Anakin didn't move, his gaze focused on her mouth, his eyes darkening as he watched her.

_Move._

Barriss heard the command echo in her mind. She couldn't follow it, caught by the intensity of his look. _Move, you fool. You're holding another woman's token of his affections!_ She pulled her hand back and took two steps back, hurting as much for herself as for him at the confusion that engulfed his face. She managed a weak smile. "We land on Naboo later today, Anakin. I'm glad you've said your goodbyes; her burial would be more difficult if you hadn't."

"Barriss, I-"

She held up her free hand, the Japor snippet cutting into the palm of the other. "Don't, Anakin. I'll hold your token for you until you're ready for it again, but don't push. Take this one step at a time. You've started on your road to healing; don't derail it now by saying or doing something you'll regret later."

He snapped his mouth shut and the muscle along his jaw twitched. "Something I would regret. You mean like kissing you?"

"Do you regret it?"

"Do you?" His words were short, but she could hear the hurt that he attempted to hide .

"It was a kiss; my first." She felt the heat crawling up her face, but continued. "It was given with no strings, no expectations. You cannot regret that which holds no expectations. I'm glad it made you feel better." She took one last, long look at him and turned on her heel, leaving the cargo bay.

"Barriss, wait!"

She heard him scramble after her, but she didn't wait. She didn't turn to look at him, the Japor snippet burning like a brand in the center of her palm. She wanted to be rid of it, to throw it across the hold with a shriek of dismay, but she couldn't. She was too controlled, to empathetic for that. Anakin needed a friend right now and, despite the heat that flared between them, he wasn't ready for anything more.

She stopped, stumbling, her hand steadying her on the corridor wall. _Something more._ Her eyes widened with dismay. _Is that what I want from him? Is that why I can't tell him no?_

"Barriss?"

She closed her eyes but was unable to ignore him. "Yes, Anakin?"

She heard his hesitate, could feel his nervousness, but couldn't appreciate it. Her senses were reeling, her revelation having shocked her to the core. She _did_ want more from him. She wanted to explore where these feelings would take them, to know all there was to know about being someone's - being _his_ woman. She clenched her hand around the Japor snippet, feeling the pendant dig into her palm once more. She'd gotten attached.

"I never knew that was your first kiss."

Barriss pushed herself away from the wall, pushing aside her own problems, her own revelations, and turned to face him. "Unlike you, I stay out of the limelight and focus on my studies. Don't you have things to do before we land?"

He looked at her confused. "You don't want to spend time with me?"

She managed a faint smile. "Everyone needs some time to themselves and I've found precious little on this voyage. I'm not complaining but now that I know you're dealing with your grief, I need some time to myself."

"Alright." Anakin shot her a questioning look. "You're sure you don't regret our kiss?"

Barriss nodded. "I'm sure. I'll see you before we land, alright?"

He nodded and let her go. For that she was grateful for Barriss knew, without a doubt, that if he'd continued looking at her with such heat in his eyes she'd have been hard pressed not to be the one initiating their next kiss. She firmly turned on her heel and headed towards her quarters. It wouldn't happen; she couldn't let it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Part 3**

The landing on Naboo was formal, the Queen dressed in full mourning attire, the delegates and Senators of the surrounding systems having been shipped in to welcome the Nabooian's Senator's body home. The Gungans, Padmé's cause, had turned out in force, their voices raised in songs of mourning. Barriss, her focus less than perfect, remembered little of the speeches that were given, or the people that they met. Obi-Wan, flanked by two of Padmé's Handmaidens, escorted the casket at the front. Her own Master was rear guard while she and Anakin held flank positions. Not that they expected trouble on the landing pad, but four Jedi escorting a casket had the effect the Chancellor had hoped for.

Obi-Wan spoke; she remembered that much, but her gaze was drawn to Anakin. He was pale, but composed, the grief that had held him in thrall finally having relinquished its grasp and allowed him to move beyond the initial sorrow.

Barriss' hand clenched around the Japor snippet she'd attached to her wrist, her hand closing about the pendant as a reminder. A reminder of who the woman in the casket had been and what she'd been to Anakin in his mind. It was also a reminder of her foolishness, of her own desires, her fixation on the other Padawan. A reminder of what she stood to lose if she chose to follow where her feelings were taking her.

They escorted the casket into the main hall of the Theed Palace and took up their honor guard positions flanking the casket on either end as it was settled to the prepared bier. The Handmaidens moved to the entrances, joined by two more, all dressed in the dark colors of mourning.

Barriss was unprepared for the first mourners when they entered. They were an older couple and, without having to ask, she knew immediately that these had been Padmé's parents. They were young, as far as parents went, but then, she realized with a start, the Senator hadn't been very old when she'd been murdered.

Jobal Naberrie walked straight up to the casket, her face a mask, as if frozen, of denial. It wasn't until she neared and she caught sight of her daughter's face, beautiful even in death, that the mask cracked. "No." Her word was but a breath, but it echoed through the hall. "Padmé... no!"

Her husband caught her as she turned away, enfolding her in his grasp. They clung to one another, tears streaking heedlessly down their cheeks, sharing their grief. The grief of losing a daughter. They moved closer and Barriss had the uncomfortable feeling of being a voyeur as the couple spoke to their daughter, their voices choked with tears.

She turned her face away, unable to intrude on their grief. Anakin shook next to her and she found his hand, knowing this would be the most difficult part for him. Having dealt with his grief or not, she already knew he was sensitive and the grief of those who came to see Padmé's final state would affect him deeply.

His hand clung to hers as a small family; Mother, Father and two children, both subdued, their shoulders bowed from grief, were admitted next. The resemblance to the older woman was remarkable and Barriss had no doubt this was Padmé's sister and her family. She squeezed Anakin's hand and he squeezed back gratefully.

The hours passed slowly, Padmé's family given extra time to be with her and speak their thoughts. Finally, spent, their grief weighing them down, Jobal scooped up one of her grandchildren and ushered the rest of her family out. Padmé had been much loved and many more people wanted to say goodbye.

They left and Anakin visibly relaxed, the first hurdle overcome.

Luminara and Obi-Wan exchanged hushed words on the other side of the casket, but neither Padawan was focused on them. The doors had been opened and the crowds admitted. A line had been formed as the mourners waiting outside surged forward. The Handmaidens stepped in, firmly taking control, and quashing any protests with a look or action. They organized the people into a queue and move them inside. Each individual was given a few moments to say something, or to reach out and reverently touch the casket.

The Jedi held their posts, hands on their lightsabers, doing the duty asked of them by the Chancellor. They held their posts through the afternoon, given no relief, and asking none as the endless flow of mourners brought small gifts, flowers or pieces of flimsi with messages to place near the casket. The pile grew, and the mourners continued to come.

Twilight came without so much as a whisper, the wind never appearing, as if the whole world held its breath with the death of a beloved daughter. The Handmaidens finally changed, the Queen's own decoys taking their places. Luminara moved to where Barriss and Anakin stood. "This will continue through tonight and tomorrow. Go. Eat and refresh yourselves. Obi-Wan and I will stand watch until your return."

"But-"

Luminara pinned Anakin with a look and he swallowed his objections. Nodding reluctantly, he pulled Barriss with him and disappeared behind the casket to the private entrance and rooms that had been reserved for them.

Luminara watched them go for only a moment before returning to her post. "Is it wise to keep them together, Obi-Wan?"

"Wiser than separating them right now. Anakin needs her help."

Luminara nodded, but, even as she accepted his assessment she was concerned for her Padawan. Barriss was in over her head and, other than be there to listen, there wasn't a thing Luminara could do to help her. _May the Force give you strength, Barriss,_ she found herself thinking. _You'll need it in the days ahead._

* * *

><p><em>"No... Mom... no..."<em>

Barriss tossed on her bunk, sweat breaking out on her brow as the cry echoed through her dreams. A voice she recognized, that pulled at her heart and dragged her towards it. Anakin's voice. It echoed through her mind, caught somewhere between wakefulness and slumber, haunting her, bringing with it the fear and helplessness of the last time he'd dreamed - and she'd been present.

The dream began to form without conscious though only, this time, there was more...

_Sun. _

_Sand._

_Blazing heat._

_A handsome older woman with brown hair. Brown hair matted with blood. A cut on her cheek. Her hands drawn, pulled tight across a combined pair of bones. Bones so large they held her weight as effectively as they held her captive._

_Blood_

_Body __odor_

_Death._

_Brown robes swathed strange looking humanoids as they raised a weapon of some kind above their heads. Bodies scattered the ground around them as they moved, killing with impunity. They screamed a challenge, one turning to the trapped female, his weapon coming back and connecting sharply with the back of her head. The woman slumped across the bones._

Anakin's cry sounded somewhere in the distance; outrage and pain, as if he'd been the one to take the blow. She felt his presence tear away from her, shocked from sleep as the brutality of the actions were too much for him to bear.

But Barriss didn't wake.

_She watched as the woman was loaded on the back of a huge shaggy animal, bone support and all, and the humanoids moved away._

_Moon_

_Stars_

_Blood numbing cold._

_It was night now, the encampment she didn't remember arriving at looming before her. A shadowy figure moved from skin hut to skin hut, careful to stay in the shadows. She blinked, recognizing Anakin's familiar lean frame. She watched as he drew his saber, cutting open the back of one tent and kicking it in savagely. She could feel his emotions, a tumultuous mixture of rage and desperation._

_She was drawn in, a silent watcher as events unfolded before her eyes. _

_Anakin pulled his mother from the bone rack, cradling her in his arms. The words were lost to Barriss, having no meaning in the dream. Only emotions rang clear. Anakin's relief, his joy at finding her alive. His despair at knowing she wouldn't make it out of the tent. She felt his pain and it cut through her, leaving her heart a bruised, aching mess. She watched, helpless to aid him as his mother died in his arms._

_She felt the rage that boiled up from the depth of his being, so black it was all consuming. She watched, horrified as he gently lay his mother's body on the ground and pulled out his lightsaber. She stood with him as his lightsaber came up and he sprang from the tent, the blade flashing outwards towards the sentry's neck -_

"Anakin! _**NO!**_"

"Barriss!"

Barriss woke with a start, the vivid images of the vision hovering before her horrified gaze. The lightsaber arcing, as if in slow motion, towards the first of two sentries. The image was replaced by Anakin's face, his hands cupping hers as he stared at her concerned. She shivered, feeling suddenly cold, as the implications of the vision became clear.

Anakin would return to free his mother and fall to the darkside in the process.

She shuddered and was suddenly pulled close, into the tight embrace of the very man she'd just seen ready to slaughter the people who had torn his mother from him forever. His hands were gentle, stroking her hair as he rocked her back and forth, the vision slow to fade. But fade it did. She clung to him without realizing what she was doing, her face burrowing into the hollow of his shoulder. He was warmth where there was none. His hands were sure, soothing, even as she could feel him shaking off the very real effects of another nightmarish encounter.

But not one that was nearly as chilling as her own.

"Are you alright?"

She inhaled deeply, drawing in the spicy scent that was his alone, allowing it to calm her racing heart. Drawing from his embrace but even as she felt her control returning, she was chilled in a fashion she'd never been before. Lifting her gaze, she found his in the low lights of their assigned quarters, and _looked_. She searched beyond the concern and compassion, beyond the grief that was loosening its hold to the very depths of his being. She searched for that knot of rage, the one she'd seen in her dream, the one that had exploded to reveal a stranger with lethal intentions.

He pulled back, disturbed by the sharpening in her gaze, but Barriss grabbed his head in her hands and held him still, the Force flaring to life even as something else made her skin tingle and her heart race. She hadn't identified it yet, and didn't dare do so now. Instead she searched and was rewarded. She found it, carefully leashed and controlled, fuelling his drive to become a Jedi, his drive to-

Anakin pulled back, grabbing her hands and wrenching them from his face to break the contact. "Barriss?"

Her shoulders slumped. "You'd do it."

"What?"

She took a shuddering breath. "I saw you, don't deny it. I know how much you care about her."

His confusion was plain. "Who are you talking about? _What_ would I do?"

"Slaughter the people who killed your mother."

The pain and rage flared in his eyes, the burning she'd seen in her dreams coming to the forefront for an instant before it was gone again. "She's alive."

"I know."

"But you just said-"

"I know what I just said. Your mother will die in your arms and it will bring about your downfall. Don't you see, Anakin? Don't you understand that your attachment to your mother is what will drive you beyond reason?"

"You can't know that."

She told him, succinctly, about her dream.

Anakin paled, falling away from her and pushed to his feet to pace back and forth across the middle of the room. "That's not for certain."

"Can you look me in the eye and tell me you wouldn't do it if you had the opportunity, Anakin?"

"I know better; I'm going to be a Jedi!"

Barriss felt her throat close. "But you don't know you wouldn't, do you? You can't tell me you wouldn't."

"I couldn't - _I know better_!"

"Knowing better doesn't help when your feelings are involved, Anakin."

"What do you know about feeling?" He rounded on her spitefully, his eyes flashing. "You, the perfect Jedi Padawan who doesn't know her mother, and never will. What could you _possibly_ know about what it is to feel your mother's pain, to know that she's being tortured at the hands of animals and there's nothing you can do about it? Nothing anyone will _let_ you do about it and to have your dreams passed off as nonsense. What could you know?"

There was a sadness in her gaze as she watched him. "If you could see yourself, maybe you wouldn't think _my_ vision was so far fetched."

He glared at her. "I was a fool to think you could understand. No one does because no one but me remembers their mother."

That stung. Barriss managed not to flinch at his venomous accusation. "So let's go after her and prove us both wrong."

He froze, not believing his ears. "What?"

Barriss pushed to her feet, carefully avoiding the doubts in the back of her mind. "I said, let's go after her. If we get to Tatooine - I assume she's still on Tatooine in your visions?"

He nodded.

She continued. "Good, then if we get there and find that she's just fine, and nothing's happened to her your nightmares - and mine - should stop. If we get there and she's been captured by those... things-"

"Tusken Raiders."

Barriss didn't miss a beat. "If she's been captured by the Tusken Raiders, we go as a team. None of this super hero stuff; deal?"

He stared at her shocked. "What deal? We can't leave now."

"Why not?" Barriss pinned him with a look that dared him to present an argument she couldn't refute.

"Padmé-"

"She's dead, Anakin. Nothing you can say or do will bring her back."

"But, her burial-"

"Is Tatooine more than a day's journey from here?"

"Well, no, but-"

"Then we'll be back in time."

"We've been appointed as honor guard; we can't just abandon our posts-"

"Our _Masters_ were appointed honor guard." Barriss crossed her arms over her chest. "We're simply here to be back up if anything goes wrong. People will be viewing the body for the rest of the week - that's plenty of time to get to Tatooine, check on your mother and be back in time to see Padmé buried."

"Our Masters are relying on us for breaks, it would be-"

"Anakin." Barriss grinned. "Just grab your bag and let's go already. They won't even notice we're gone."

Anakin stared at her shocked. "You're serious."

"Deadly. I don't like my nightmares about you anymore than you like the ones about your mother. We can kill them both in a single stroke - we'd be foolish not to capitalize on this opportunity. Grab your gear, Anakin; you're going home!"

* * *

><p>"They went where?"<p>

"Tatooine, Master Jedi." The page held out the message Barriss had left for their Masters to Luminara "She asked I deliver this message to you."

Luminara thanked the young boy and he disappeared. She signalled to Obi-Wan she was stepping back for a moment and scanned the hastily concocted message.

_Master,_

_I've taken Anakin to Tatooine to rid ourselves of these visions once and for all. I've had another, more disturbing vision centered on Anakin's mother - and his actions - that needs immediate action. Without prompt attention it could mean the difference in his career. _

_I beg forgiveness, not permission. I will give you a full report on our return and after the burial of the Senator._

_Barriss_

A line creased Luminara's brow. More disturbing visions? She hadn't been aware of more than the single one she'd shared with Anakin. But something that could mean the difference in Anakin's career - and in the middle of their assignment no less?

She stepped back to Obi-Wan, tapped him on the shoulder and handed him the message. Obi-Wan read it where he was, half-turned to hide the contents from those mourners who continued to file past. He looked up sharply, his mouth set in a disproving line. Luminara shook her head fractionally and retrieved the datapad before taking up her position on the other side of the casket.

Their hands were tied, their instructions explicit. Until Anakin and Barriss returned - or the Senator was buried - they were honor bound to their duties on Naboo.

Luminara put the datapad in her pocket. Barriss wasn't known for rash actions like this; if she'd deemed it important enough, Luminara would trust her judgment for now and wait. Her Padawan would return and when she did they'd have a long talk about responsibilities and manners. Until then she would simply have to trust her Padawan to return in one piece.


	4. Chapter 4

**Part 4**

Barriss checked the sensors on the ship a final time. "Are you sure we're where we're supposed to be?"

Anakin cast her a look that she couldn't read. "I spent almost ten years of my life down there. Yes, I'm positive."

Barriss fell silent once more. The tension between them had mounted by the hour inside the cockpit.

They'd 'borrowed' a small ship from the Nabooian fleet, a sleek silver craft with high speed capabilities in an effort to minimize their time away from their Masters. The ship had responded beautifully to the demands Anakin had made on her and was now arrowing in one a settlement that showed no transponder beyond "Mos Espa". The city, if one could call it that, spread out below her in a sprawling vista of single and dual floor homes, all shaped to withstand high winds.

Anakin brought the Nubian cruiser down and landed it in one of the space port's docking bays. They paid a small fee and then departed, heading into the city.

Barriss watched as Anakin paused every now and again as if seeing something that was familiar to him. And indeed it could very well be. If Barriss wasn't mistaken, Anakin had just brought her to the very place where he'd spent a good deal of his young life. They walked slowly, foregoing one of the droid driven carts. Anakin led her down several streets, into side streets and eventually down a couple of back alleys. She could see his confidence growing as each new twist and turn revealed itself.

He obviously knew the route.

They emerged some distance from the space port next to a shabby looking shop. Piles of half-repaired junk and parts were stacked haphazardly about the doorway and along the exterior walls. One of the strangest looking creatures Barriss had ever seen was seated at a work bench, attempting to put together the head of a strange looking droid.

Anakin's smile died as he stepped up to the creature. Barriss stayed at his side, her hand closer to her lightsaber and expecting trouble. And then Anakin spoke, in a language she didn't understand, and proceeded to first converse, then assist the creature. She stared at him mystified. What was he doing?

Anakin screwed the lens cap onto the droid's receptor and placed it back in front of the creature. "Ani? Little Ani?" Barriss tried not to grin. This creature - she thought she'd heard him say its name was Watto - called him Ani? She was jerked from her thoughts as Watto suddenly burst out excitedly in basic. "Ani, It is you! Ya sure sprouted! A Jedi Knight, whddaya know!"

Barriss was shocked when Watto not only ignored her but asked Anakin's help in dealing with certain 'deadbeats' who owed him some money. She almost cheered when Anakin simply stared at the creature. "My mother."

Watto looked chagrined. "Ah yes, Shmi. I don't own her no more; I sold her."

"Sold her?" Anakin stared at the creature shocked. Barriss placed her hand on his arm, feeling the tension radiating off his frame. She didn't hear Watto's next callous comment, though she was sorely pressed to step in. Anakin's patience was coming to an end.

"It was a long time ago, you know how it is, business is business."

"To who?"

Watto rubbed the back of his neck. "I sold her to a moisture farmer named... Lars - at least, I think it was Lars. But I hear he freed her, and married her - can you beat that?"

Anakin took the news stoically but Barriss could sense his elation. His mother was free! Not only free, but apparently happily married, if Watto was to be believed. She squeezed his forearm, indicating her silent support and he smiled at her before turning his attention back to the blue Tydorian. "Where are they now?"

"A long way from here," Watto told him cagily. "Long way from here. Somewhere out past Mos Eisley's I think."

"I'd like to know."

"Sure. Anything for you, let's just go check my records." Watto told them nervously. He didn't so much as spare Barriss a glance as he motioned for Anakin to enter his hut. Barriss trailed along curiously, the Japor snippet burning in her hand as she squeezed it. She felt like an outsider, someone who was playing a role that hadn't been hers to play. That she wasn't meant to play.

But then, things had changed a lot since their return from Ansion.

She stopped inside, noting how warm it was inside compared to the cool shade just beyond the door. Sweat popped out on her forehead as she waited, watching as Watto pulled several data disks from his files and placed them on a scarred work bench. His blue wings beat continuously, fanning Anakin's hair and cloak, and Barriss wondered if that small breeze made it more tolerable - or was simply a tease for cooler climates.

With little else to do, she took in the shop. It was small, the space occupied with every kind of gadget or part a person could want. They were stacked in every available place, some of them looking ready to fall - or as if they were simply defying gravity because they could. She held her breath, and turned her gaze back to Anakin and Watto.

They were hunched over a holo-map and Watto was pointing out several distinguishing features. They were talking in that strange language again - the one she hadn't realized Anakin could speak - and she didn't quite get the direction. She did, however, understand that they were discussing a ship's course.

Anakin finally stood back, coolly thanked Watto for his help and then turned to her. She could see the excitement shining in his eyes and he motioned for her to lead the way out of the stifling little shop. Watto, content to let the Jedi leave, didn't follow them.

Barriss was caught in a sudden, enthusiastic embrace as Anakin followed her outside and scooped her into his arms, twirling her around. She gasped, but could do little else as her feet were dropped back to the sandy lane. "She's free, Barriss!"

She laughed. "Did you honestly expect to come back here and find your mother was still Watto's slave?"

Anakin smiled sheepishly, looping an arm about her shoulders and guiding her back towards the space port. "Well, maybe not. The dreams didn't indicate any kind of city, or any dunes that reminded me of Mos Espa but I think a part of me was afraid I was completely wrong about everything."

"Or maybe hoping you were?"

He shrugged. His solemn countenance returned suddenly. "I hope whoever this Lars guy is, he's treating her well."

Barriss chuckled softly. "Anakin, what kind of man buys a slave and frees her to marry her if he wasn't going to treat her right? Without the Republic's anti-slavery laws, he could have done anything he wanted with her."

Anakin stopped, looking as if she's just sucker punched him.

"What?"

He gaped at her and then smiled sheepishly. "I hadn't thought of it like that. But you're right. With the Hutts controlling Tatooine and endorsing slavery, this Lars guy could have bade her do anything on punishment of death. Still..."

She jabbed her elbow into his ribs unkindly. "How about you don't make assumptions before we find them? Who knows, maybe by now you have a younger brother or sister."

Anakin didn't respond, but his pace increased and Barriss' delighted laughter echoed through the street as they raced back towards the space port. Yet, underneath the jovial excitement, there was a thread of foreboding. Like they were holding their breath until they arrived at the Lars homestead to really celebrate. Only once there, and the nightmares banished, would either breathe easier.

* * *

><p>The ship set down several dozen meters from a small desert home and Anakin killed the engines. The tension had climbed steadily after those first few elated moments outside Watto's shop and back to the ship. The details of the nightmares they'd been sharing had suddenly seemed more glaringly realistic than before. Anakin didn't say it, but Barriss knew that he was thinking that if his mother had still been a slave belonging to Watto, she would never have the opportunity to meet Tusken Raiders.<p>

She could sense the turmoil he was in, careening from happy, to nervous to angry and back to nervous. She could sense his mixed emotions about the coming reunion - and that he expected a confrontation. As the whine of the engines died, Anakin's hands remained firmly fastened over the manual controls, his gaze on the small homestead in the middle of nowhere.

Barriss watched emotions flicker across his face; dread, longing, fear all mixed with the hunger of a child for parental approval.

"I'm sure she still loves you."

He jerked, his gaze snapping to hers. "What?"

Barriss shrugged, slightly uncomfortable, not really understanding the deep emotional attachment he had to his mother. "I hear that mothers love their children no matter what. She'll be very proud of you."

Anakin's face colored. "I don't think I can do this."

"Not even to end the dreams?"

The color drained from his face and he squared his shoulders. "Isn't it better to not know, sometimes?"

"Maybe." Barriss agreed. "But we're both hurting because of these dreams, Anakin. We're here; it doesn't make any sense not to say hello and see if we can't discredit those dreams."

"True." His answer was reluctant

Barriss placed her hands over his where they still gripped the manual control sticks. "You'll have to let go of the yoke if we're going to do this."

His fingers tensed under hers for a brief moment before relaxing. Slowly they slipped back until her hands were the only thing holding his in place. His gaze lifted to hers, the shadows of what he dreaded most flicking through his cerulean orbs. Force only know what he saw in hers. She lifted her hands, but Anakin shifted his, twisting his wrists so that he caught her fingers, twining them about his own. "Don't."

Barriss managed a small smile. "At least you let go of the stick."

"Barriss-"

She shook her head. "Just remember our bargain, Anakin. No heroics if you don't find what you're looking for, we face this thing together. Right?"

"Right." He took a deep breath. "I don't think I'm ready for this."

"Who is?" Barris shifted around in the cockpit, managing to free one of her hands, but Anakin held fast to the other. Using it as leverage, she pulled him from his seat and towards the ramp. "But, it won't get any better for the waiting. Let's go."

Anakin was reluctantly led from the craft and out into the blazing dual suns of Tatooine's desert. Barriss flinched, pulling the hood of her Jedi cloak up over sensitive eyes with one hand. In Mos Espa there had been plenty of buildings and other beings to take the mind off the horrible glare. In the middle of the Tatooine desert there were no such things; just moisture vaporator farms that were few and far between.

Anakin squeezed her fingers and began walking towards the homestead. The sun beat down upon them, but Barriss was more focused on watching Anakin than her own discomfiture. He stopped, several times, and she had to nudge him forward. Anakin was surveying the area with a concerned, but critical, eye. As if sizing up the home of the family his mother had been made a part of.

"Meet them first," Barriss told him pointedly, nodding to one of the robots that was working on a nearby vaporator. "Why don't you introduce yourself and see if she's here before you make assumptions?"

But Anakin wasn't listening. He'd turned to the droid and, to Barriss' surprise amazement, picked up his pace. His gaze was critical as he circled the droid, drawing its attention, as if looking for defects.

"Oh, hello. I am C-"

"3P0?" Anakin's incredulity was shocked, but pleased.

The droid's reaction was instantaneous and delighted, surprised Barriss almost as much as Anakin's recognition of the droid had. "Master Ani! It's so good to see you! And who's this?"

Barriss wondered if she should extend her hand for a handshake but decided against it. "I'm Jedi Padawan Barriss Offee."

"Delighted to meet you, Padawan Offee. I am C-"

"3P0 is a protocol droid." Anakin finished, cutting off the droid with a half-smile. "I built him when I was nine to help mom around the house." He looked back to the droid. "I've come to see her - if she's here."

C3P0 looked from Anakin to Barriss and back. "Perhaps we had best go inside."

Anakin and Barriss shared a look, and Barriss could see Anakin anticipating the worst, the crushing weight of his dreams returning to choke him even as he tried to keep hope that she'd be found. She reached out, grasping his hand and squeezed.

The shadow around him eased its hold as he squeezed her hand back. They followed 3P0 into the small home, having to relinquish their grip on one another to navigate the small stairwell that dropped into the central section of the below-ground, but open air, home. 3P0 stopped at the bottom, waiting for them to catch up. The area was silent, and Barriss' hand inched towards the lightsaber on her belt as a feeling of unease crept over her.

3P0 didn't appear to have any qualms, starting out across the sandy bowl towards an alcove at the other side.

Barriss slid her hand around Anakin's arm and into the crook of his elbow, her gaze darting left and right. "I don't like this. It's too quiet."

Anakin glanced at her but she could tell by the set of his shoulders he was uneasy too. 3P0 had been a welcome surprise, but now, inside this sunken home, they were both on edge. The droid stopped across the bowl and motioned for them to follow. Anakin started to, but Barriss held him back a moment, her eyes on the droid. "Be careful."

"I don't sense hostile intentions." He told her frankly.

"Neither do I, but it feels like something's happening, something-"

"Ani? My little Ani? Is that you?"

Both of their heads came up and Barriss caught Anakin's stunned look even as dissolved into a boyish grin of delight and wonder. "Mom!"

Barriss' gaze turned back to the woman but she only caught a glimpse as Anakin darted across the sandy floor and swept the older woman into a tight hug. He was laughing, a sound of pure delight that was almost painful to listen to as he swung her around. The older woman was laughing too, tears streaming down her cheeks as her arms remained firmly around the neck of her grown up son.

Anakin finally set her down on her own feet and then hugged her again, his arms tight around her waist. Barriss had to turn her face away, her own eyes swimming with tears, as she fought off a sudden wave of jealousy. Anakin's mother was alive and well - a woman who had missed him dearly. It clearly showed in her posture and expression. Her own mother probably didn't remember her.

She saw Anakin pull away from his mother out of the corner of her eye and darted another look as Shmi - for she could be no other - examined Anakin critically. "You're so handsome!"

Barriss stifled a laugh at the shocked look on Shmi's face and spoke without thinking. "Don't tell him too often or it'll go to his head."

Anakin flushed and grinned sheepishly as Shmi turned a surprised look Barriss' way. "This is Barriss, mom, she's learning to be a Jedi just like me."

"Is she now?" Shmi teased her son with a knowing look as her worn face was split by a welcoming smile. She held her hand out to Barriss. Barriss took it gingerly and was shocked by the firmness of it. "Shmi Skywalker-Lars. Anakin's mother."

Barriss shook the other woman's hand and cast a glance at Anakin. "It's my pleasure to meet the woman responsible for such a courageous and selfless Jedi Padawan."

Anakin blushed, even as Shmi's smile was all maternal pride. "The pleasure is mine, Barriss. Can I offer either of you anything? There's likely something in the cooler. Cleigg and Owen have gone to pick up Beru but they should be back soon."

"I'd love something." Barriss told her honestly. "The air here is dryer than I'm used to."

They retired to the kitchen, where Anakin was fussed over by his mother, and even Barriss - the uncomfortable recipient of such maternal attentions - could understand why he'd missed her. It was nice to have someone look after you on occasion and to care enough to _want_ to look after you. Barriss watched, amused, as Shmi settled them both comfortably and then wanted to know all about Anakin's training. Everything. Every scraped knee, every fight he'd been in and the missions he'd been on.

Barriss listened avidly as Anakin recounted a good portion of his childhood, fascinated by his perspective as a child that hadn't been brought to the temple at a really young age.

Finally, Anakin reached the mission on Ansion and, to Barriss surprise, he scaled back his telling, as if it had been no more than a regular, run-of-the-mill mission. Like they hadn't been in mortal danger more than once, hounded by assassins and creatures that were at the mercy of the windy world. She met his gaze once, while he was explaining their run in with the different tribes and arched her eyebrows.

He smiled sheepishly, interrupting his tale. "Sorry mom, Barriss thinks I'm being too modest as to the dangers we faced. Maybe she should tell this one."

Barriss chuckled, shaking her head. "I think he's trying not to scare you, Mrs... er..."

"Just Shmi, Barriss."

Rescued, Barriss smiled gratefully. "I think Anakin's trying not to scare you with what we do, Shmi. We had considerable trouble and plenty of problems on Ansion he's simply glossed over."

Anakin blushed. "What about you mom, Is it true what Watto told me? That this Lars fellow bought, freed and married you?"

Shmi nodded, sipping her beverage. "He saw me shortly after you left and offered to buy me from Watto. Watto agreed - he needed the credits after ruining himself on the race you won - and Cleigg brought me here."

"He didn't force you to stay?"

"Cleigg is a good man, Anakin," Shmi told him with a gentle smile. Barriss had noted that Shmi wasn't a loud woman, but a woman who meant what she said and picked her words carefully. "He loves me and I him. I hope you're happy for us; I'd like you to be friends if nothing else."

Anakin reached out and squeezed her fingers. "I'm happy you were able to escape the life of a slave, mom. If he makes you happy, I'm sure I'll like him."

Shmi turned to look at Barriss, cocking her head at the young woman. "And you, Barriss?"

Barriss shrugged. "I have no say in the matter - I'm just here for moral support."

Shmi looked from one Jedi to the other and Anakin ducked his gaze. Barriss could tell he was trying not to remember what had brought him here in the first place and failing. Shmi seemed to note the same as she focused on her son. "Ani? Is something wrong?"

Anakin's ragged breath had Barriss scooting closer, placing her hand on his knee under the table and squeezing. His hand dropped from the table to top to land on hers and the squeeze he gave her fingers made one of them crack at the joint. She winced. "Give him a minute; it's tough."

Shmi did just that, gently stroking the hand she still held as she watched Anakin concerned.

Barriss stared at him, and he looked up just long enough to meet her gaze. She saw pleading in it, the silent plea to take this burden from him. Barriss pretended to misunderstand and, not looking at Shmi, one hand captured in his, the other clenched around the Japor snippet, finally spoke. "What Anakin hasn't yet told you, Shmi, is that he lost someone very close to him this last week."

"Oh Ani!" Shmi rounded the table, sliding in beside Anakin and wrapping her arms about him. "Not your Master, I hope."

He shook his head. Barriss could see tears had lined his lashes, but these ones didn't fall despite the pain that was etched in his expression. "Padmé was assassinated this week, mom."

"Padmé!" Shmi repeated the name on a gasp. "That delightfully polite little girl who wanted to keep your safe from the pod race?"

Anakin nodded miserably. "She was speaking out against the military creation act on Coruscant - she was head of the movement-" there was no mistaking the pride under Anakin's pain. "-and someone who wanted her silenced had her killed. She used a decoy but it wasn't enough. They killed her because someone didn't like what she had to say."

"Oh, Ani, I'm so sorry. I know you liked her."

Anakin let go of Barriss' hand and hugged his mother, letting the feel of security and unconditional acceptance seep into his body even as he came to the dawning realization that it didn't hurt as much. Ever since he'd done as Barriss had suggested and said his goodbyes, Padmé's death had been easier to bear. Like he'd closed the door on a part of his life and opened the door to the next. He pulled away, managing a smile and gently kissed his mother's cheek. "I missed you mom."

"And I you." Shmi's smile was almost as sad as his. She'd met Padmé and been impressed by the girl's gumption. "I'm sorry you lost a friend, Ani."

"Me too. But Barriss has been wonderful." The smile he sent Barriss' way was thankful. "I wouldn't have been able to come as far as I have without her."

"Shmi?"

They all jumped at the sound of the rough voice, a worried tone lacing the call. Shmi smiled, her face acquiring a delighted glow. "Cleigg!" She squeezed Anakin's shoulder before pulling herself from the bench to stand behind him. "I'm in here, Cleigg!"

"By the twin suns, woman, are you trying to - who's this?"

Anakin got his first look at the man his mother had married. Grizzled, his face sporting a day's worth of whiskers that were graying, Cleigg Lars had sharp brown eyes that studied Anakin intently. They were wary, but also took note of the protective and proud way Shmi's hands lay on Anakin's shoulders. The wariness dispersed and a smile lit the older man's features. "Is this-?"

Barriss saw the affectionate look that passed between Shmi and Cleigg and blushed. There was no doubt in her mind that they were together mutually. Shmi's words were soft, but full of pride. "Cleigg, I'd like you to meet my son, Anakin. Anakin, this is my husband, Cleigg."

Anakin stood and Cleigg was forced to look up at him as he did so. Barriss bit the inside of her cheek as Anakin reached his full height, watching as Cleigg seemed to have to reevaluate the initial impression. Cleigg was a short, stocky man who was only slightly taller than Shmi. Anakin, a full head and shoulders taller than his mother, dwarfed the older man.

Cleigg looked from Anakin to Shmi, and back before offering his hand. "A pleasure to meet you, son. Your mother speaks very highly of you."

Anakin flushed. "I can't thank you enough for saving her from Watto... sir..." His thanks was clumsy, but heartfelt. "She's happier than I've ever seen her."

Cleigg's eyes went back to his wife and Shmi, a soft smile on her face, shrugged. "He's right. I'm happier here with you than I have been since Anakin left to become a Jedi."

"I'm not a Jedi yet," Anakin turned his pleading look on Barriss, a cry for obvious help.

Barriss arched her eyebrows at him as if to say, _then do something about it._

Anakin nodded to her, drawing Cleigg's attention away from him and his mother. "This is Barriss Offee, she's my-"

"Girlfriend?" Cleigg grinned knowingly, finishing his sentence. "A mite pretty thing at that."

Barriss blushed. "I think Anakin was going to say colleague, Mr. Lars. But thank you for the compliment."

Cleigg grinned knowingly, moving to slip an arm around his wife's waist. "Well, now that the whole family's here, I think Owen just might like to meet you, Anakin. Owen's your step brother - my son by my first wife."

Anakin watched Cleigg whisk his mother away and out into the main area of the homestead and frowned.

Barriss moved close and laid her hand on his arm with a knowing smile. "He loves your mother Anakin."

He made a face. "I don't care; I just want her to myself for a while."

Barriss chuckled. "Spoiled brat," she admonished gently. "You've a family waiting with open arms to accept you and all you can see is what you don't have. Cleigg didn't just buy your mother, Anakin; he rescued her and won her. Surely you don't begrudge her that."

"No." He sighed, smiling a petulant smile that was tinged with remorse. "How'd you get so smart anyway?"

"I think it's easier being on the outside looking in - I never had or even dreamed of what you're being offered. But, if you accept, the attachment will go against your at your knighting."

He pulled her into his arms, feeling the hurt in her words, and the gentle admonishment. "I can't thank you enough for dragging me here."

Barriss closed her eyes, returning his hug completely. "Thanks for letting me tag along. I'm glad things were different than what we expected."

"Me too, Barriss." His words were whispered, gently and fervently against her forehead. "Me too."

* * *

><p>"Barriss."<p>

Barriss woke instantly, her lightsaber in hand as she rolled towards the voice that called her name. A muffled shriek and soft laugher accompanied her tumble off the bed. She threw the covers away , her grin turning sheepish as she saw who'd woken her.

"Sorry. I guess I'm a bit paranoid."

Shmi helped the young woman untangle herself from the blankets before settling on the edge of Barriss' bunk.

Barriss cocked her head at Anakin's mother. "If it's not too forward, what are you doing in my room in the middle of the night?"

"It's early morning," Shmi corrected, keeping her voice low. "Mushrooms grow on the vaporators and I was wondering if you'd like to come with Beru and I to pick them."

Barriss' smile turned delighted. "I'd love to."


	5. Chapter 5

**Part 5**

_Heat._

_Sand._

_Wind-blown fire._

_Blue lightning arced in powerful, deadly waves, deflecting and reflecting bolts meant to kill or maim. The eerie howls of enraged Tusken Raiders split the air, their weapons being brandished even as they continued to fire on the arc of blue-white lightning._

_Chaos reigned._

_Sand was blown, stirred into whirlwinds to race across the band of attackers. Pelted with tiny fragments, their call came again, this time mocking. Sand has no meaning to them, for their are fully shielded from it. The sand is their friend, their mentor. An integral part of their lifestyle. Sand is life and death._

_The grains ignite as they touch the band of blue-white fire, a blazing trail behind a deadly path._

_And still they come. _

_Purple mixes with brown as a yell, clear as day, splits the air, _"Run! I'll hold them! Get yourselves to safety!" _The clarion call is a break point as the wall of blue-white fire moves, stopping to coalesce into a single shining blade of light, the features behind the wall of fire bursting into sudden focus as the determination and confidence blazes from orbs as hard as rock._

_Barriss._

* * *

><p>Anakin hit the floor with a <em>bang<em> as his thrashing dislodged him from his bunk. He didn't feel it. Didn't feel the fall, or the impact; didn't feel the sting of his hands being abraded by the sand. He felt nothing. He was focused inwards, on his vision, cold seeping through him, radiating from his heart as it squeezed painfully in denial.

"No."

No one heard the whispered denial as he fought through the mess of covers and found his feet, pausing only long enough to shrug into his robe. He darted from the room, padding on silent, bare feet in the pre-dawn gloom to the room that had been assigned to Beru and Barriss. He didn't pause to think, didn't pause to examine what he was doing or why, he simply acts.

The door flew open with a crash, echoing through the compound and waking both Cleigg and Owen, but Anakin was too preoccupied to notice. He took in both empty bunks, the lack of clothing laid out for the day. His gaze flashed to the bed he'd seen Barriss in and locked on the night table. The empty night table.

Anakin collapsed to his knees, his gaze focused on the nightstand and its glaring lack of evidence.

They were gone.

"They're gone."

Cleigg looked up startled from where Anakin stood in the doorway to the master bedroom. "Who's gone, son?"

"All of them. My mother, Beru and... and Barriss."

Cleigg's eyes narrowed as Anakin's voice cracked. "Don't be ridiculous, they can't have gone far."

"They're gone!" Anakin almost shouted the words, the frustration at not being understood resounding in his posture. "We have to search for them and we have to go now, we could already be too late."

"Too late for what?" Cleigg threw back the covers and reached for his trousers all in the same motion, tugging them on with swift movements. "What in blazes are you talking about?"

Anakin stopped, his fingers digging in to the doorframe with frightening strength. His voice cracked again so he swallowed, taking a deep breath, and looked his foster father full in the eyes. "The Tusken Raiders might already have them."

Cleigg, and Owen who'd come up behind Anakin, both reacted in the same manner. Alarmed. They darted to collect what they would need, and quickly, driven into action not so much by Anakin's words but the tone in which he spoke them.

Within minutes they'd jumped into Cleigg's speeder with Anakin at the helm, and were speeding off into the desert.

They came across Beru first. Barely five minutes out from the homestead they found her running full out across the dunes like her life depended on it. The Anakin felt no terror coming from the stoic young woman, at least not for herself, as the speeder slowly and stopped beside her. Owen was out before the dust settled, pulling Beru into his arms. She had a scratch on one cheek and the back of her shirt was torn and bloodied.

"I'm fine Owen." The composed blonde told him firmly, even has her haunted blue eyes looked at Cleigg. "But Shmi and Barriss are still out there! We have to go after them."

"No." Owen was firm. "You're injured; you shouldn't be coming with us."

"You can't spare the time to take me back and still get there. It might already be too late!"

"We'll make time." Cleigg's tone brokered no argument.

"We can't just-"

"I said," Cleigg pinned Anakin with a dangerous look, reminding the young man that it wasn't just his mother out there but this man's wife. Cleigg well knew what he was doing but, in good conscience, wouldn't put Beru's health in jeopardy. "We'll make time. Owen, Beru, get in the speeder."

Anakin stared at the older man dumbfounded. "But-"

"No."

Anakin hopped out of the speeder. "Fine. Take Beru back to the homestead, but I'm going after them."

"It's too dangerous," Beru argued as she was tucked beneath Owen's arm. "The Tusken's will kill you."

"They will try," Anakin replied grimly. "Catch up if you can."

He didn't spare his foster family another thought as he reached for the Force. Using it to enhance his speed and stamina abilities while stretching out for the Force signature that was Barriss, he sped off into the sand dunes. He didn't think, didn't dare consider what would be waiting for him when he arrived at the site of his vision. Would they still be there, Barriss fending off the Tusken attack? Or had she been overpowered and taken captive the way he'd feared his mother had been? Would he even find them?

He pushed the thoughts aside, letting the Force guide his feet towards his destination.

He skidded to a stop as the thread suddenly vanished. A look of horror crossed his face as his knees buckled and he sank to the ground in disbelief. _No,_ he thought frantically, groping mentally for the strands and signatures of his mother and Barriss.

His vision blurred, focusing on a sole, singular patch of stained sand that was but mere feet in front of him. The horror of the encounter rushed up to grab him by the throat, choking him like a physical thing as he saw the conclusion; Barriss wielding her lightsaber, valiantly fending off the Tusken raiders only to fall to a surge from both sides. Something caught her on the side of the head, a glancing blow but costly, and broke her concentration. Blood gushed from the wound and hit the sand-

_No, No, NO!_

He threw his head back, a scream of primal rage and denial torn from his throat to echo across the dune sea as he pulled away from the image. He fell forward, his hands landing in the still damp sand, red coating his fingertips and palms.

"They're not dead." He bit the phrase out with a grimace of determination. He knew it. Knew it like he knew his name was Anakin Skywalker. Both his mother and Barriss were _alive_! Females were often caught and traded between the Tuskens, used as slaves or sold for ransom. Some were used for their sadistic games while others were used in lieu of a Tusken Raider female.

Anakin shuddered, closing his eyes against the images of his dreams that were suddenly very, very real - with one exception; Barriss. She had changed them by coming along with his mother. But had she changed them for the better? Bile rose in the back of his throat and he didn't resist, letting the sick feeling overtake him for several minutes and the contents of his stomach mingled with the edges of the blood stain.

He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand several moments later and took a deep breath. He was trembling; determined. The Tusken Raiders wouldn't have gotten far. And they wouldn't get much farther. His eyes flashed as he opened them, determination setting his jaw at a stubborn angle. He wouldn't fail. He refused to even think about the possibility.

But somewhere, in the back of his mind, he was terrified. If he _did_ fail he was going to lose everything still worth living for.

* * *

><p>Barriss woke to an ache in her skull and the vicious bite of claws digging into her bare shoulders. She tasted blood was in her mouth, the acidic taste almost making her gag before she obtained her bearings. She was being dragged, a guttural tongue she didn't understand being thrown about her, as her heels left furrows in the sand behind her. She could feel it even if she couldn't see it, her long hair having been thrown forward over her face and free of its restraints, blinding her as effectively as a blindfold.<p>

The moan and subsequent hiss of pain somewhere off to her left sharpened her senses as the pain in her own head hadn't. A surge of despair momentarily blinded her. She'd failed! Shmi and Beru had been taken captive along with her when she's struggled to give them enough time to get away!

_Anakin I'm sorry!_

The thoughts disappeared almost as quickly as she thought them, the despair draining away as she took a pain filled breath. Her ribs were broken, at least two, possibly more. How long had they beat her once they'd managed to overcome their fear of her lightsaber and rushed her from all sides? She pushed the thought away as irrelevant as the soft pain-soaked noise came again and then, unceremoniously and without regard for her injuries, Barriss was thrown into a cage made of bone and hide. Her hair fell back and away from her face and she slammed her eyelids shut as the blinding light of the sun pierced her brain.

_Force that hurts!_

Taking a moment to focus herself, she called on the Force to control her pain and the throbbing in her head lessened. There was little she could do as she felt her hands being lashed to something solid by crude leather ties. She didn't fight, knowing it would be pointless until she felt more capable, and submerged herself in the Force. Waiting for the feeling to disappear, it left behind a twinge at her wrist from too-tight bindings before cautiously slitting her eyes, gradually opening them wider to take in her surroundings.

She was caged; that much was obvious. Bone seemed to grow from behind, above and below her, reaching in a crude square to be lashed together above. The cage, it appeared, was on the back of a large shaggy creature. She couldn't see it, except for the long brown hair that was visible through the cage bars. Her hands had been tied to a bone cross piece inside a larger cage where her unconscious cage-mate drew her gaze.

The dark hair indicated it was Shmi, but where was Beru? Barriss saw no sign of her and sent a silent prayer to the Force that she had escaped before focusing back on Shmi.

The older woman lay on her side, her wrists tied together behind her back. A large knot, quickly purpling and oozing blood, drew Barriss's gaze. The monsters had hit her brutally on the temple. Had they cause irreparable damage?

Reaching out with one foot, Barriss silently thanked her captors for removing her boots - despite the bruises she could feel forming - and placed her bare sole against Shmi's throat, curling her toes around one edge and creating a skin-on-skin contact. Reaching deep, Barriss called on the Force to examine the wounds of the older woman. Slowly, methodically, unmindful of the swaying of the beast's gait, Barriss struggled to stop the damage from spreading from the surface of Shmi's head. She struggled and won, feeling awkward as she used her feet to grasp the older woman's head between her toes.

Something jabbed her from above, drawing blood on the outside of her thigh, but she ignored it, her focus complete.

Barriss didn't know how long it was before she opened her eyes again, only that daylight seemed to have waned. Shmi slept peacefully - naturally - beside her, and her own body felt drained. Her aches made themselves known once again even as a sharp stabbing pain shot through her with her first breath.

Drained, she was unable to call on the Force to ease her own aches as she let her head list to the side to stare blankly across the dunes.

* * *

><p>Anakin felt Barriss' presence the moment she regained consciousness. He didn't question it, though later - when he had the chance to reflect - it would be a cause for question and concern. Relief spilled through him with such intensity that he stumbled in his tracking, falling to his hands and knees and closing his eyes as tears stung the backs of his lashes. She was alive. <em>Alive!<em>

Thank the Force.

He took a deep breath, steadying himself. Her presence had been clear, painful and close. Almost too close.

He'd been tracking by mundane means since he'd lost Barriss' Force trail and, while he hadn't ever been particularly adept at the skill, he knew enough to stay on the right path. At least, he'd thought it was the right path. Now he knew it to be. And they were close, so close he could feel Barriss suppressing her own pain as she immersed herself in the Force. He couldn't feel his mother's presence, but it didn't concern him yet. Somehow, someway, he _knew_ she was alive.

Anakin surged to his feet with deliberate intent.

Night was a ways off, the afternoon sun beating down on him with terrible heat as he picked up his pace, carefully picking his path now that his thread to Barriss had be re-established. He reached for her unconsciously as he tracked, only to be rebuffed time and again as her concentration was focused elsewhere. He could feel the Force as it flowed towards her, answering her call and he frowned. She wasn't using it on herself. Her aches and pains never lessened, never faltered, but she stoically ignored them, her focus on someone or something else.

His mother?

_That would be like Barriss,_ Anakin found himself thinking with both exasperation and concern. _Always worrying about others even when she's in pain._

The thoughts drove him forward, the knowledge that Barriss was helping his mother spurring him on faster even as he took pains to conceal his movements. Over any one of these sand ridges or dunes, he might find the Tusken Raider party that had captured his mother and Barriss and he didn't want to give up his element of surprise. He was going to need it if Barriss was unable to help him with their escape.

Focused and alert, he paused as he neared the top of each dune, dropping down on his stomach even if he felt nothing beyond. He made good time, but the Tusken Raider party had several hours on him and a greater knowledge of the terrain. He tracked them through the hottest part of the afternoon, wishing he'd thought to bring supplies of some kind even as he ignored his body's demand for water. He could wait, would wait, until Barriss and his mother were safe.

Then, suddenly, he topped the next dune and a Bantha raiding party materialized before his gaze. Banthas, fifteen of them lined up nose to tail and traveling in a single file line, crossed between the dunes like the great, lumbering behemoths they were. Sand People, or Tusken Raiders as they were better known, rode two on each Bantha. A large cage was attached on the back of the Bantha in the middle of the line and Anakin instantly knew that's where his mother and Barriss had to be; they weren't likely to be anywhere else.

Anakin barely breathed as he watched the Banthas continue onwards, their plodding pace enabling him to count his enemies. Thirty one raiders and, he narrowed his gaze several times to get a better look - several litters carrying either the wounded or dead. Tusken Radiers never left their dead behind if they could help it. Nothing went to waste in the desert - not even the dead.

Anakin shadowed the movements of the Raiders as they shifted south, turning into a narrow canyon and then moved beyond his sights. Carefully, methodically, he moved forward, tracing the rim of the canyon to look down and then flattened himself against the rock. The suns were setting, casting long shadows away from him and making it more difficult to see into the canyon, but he could pick out the Banthas. They'd been moved into a semi-circle and the Tusken Raiders were now moving around inside that circle, removing items as they set up camp for the night.

He watched, evaluating their circle as night stole over the desert, the temperature plunging down to below freezing as the fire from the Tusken Radiers' camp light up the area inside the Bantha's circle. Anakin waited, forcing himself to be patient as he observed, feeling Barriss' exhausting as if it were his own. He didn't dare connect with her, to let her know he was nearby.

Not yet.

He'd save that as part of his surprise. He was content to watch and wait as he evaluated the formation of the Tusken Raiders and reluctantly surmised that there was little he could do to penetrate the circle undetected. The cage holding Barriss and his mother was off to the side and they appeared to be moving, which brought instant relief. Both of them seemed to be alright.

He settled himself in for a long night, his gaze rarely leaving the cage, as he began to formulate a plan for their rescue. It wasn't going to be easy, but if he could reach them - and obtain Barriss' lightsaber - the odds of success would increase by a thousand fold. Now he just had to be certain his pieces all fell into place.


	6. Chapter 6

**Part 6**

Barriss felt her world come into focus with a gentle touch on her forehead. Worried brown eyes stared back at her as she realized someone was tending her head wound. Head wound? Spinning? Someone...

_Shmi._

The events of the last day came rushing back into the fore-front of her consciousness and her eyes widened only to flinch as it pulled on her wounds and made her head ache more. Her body reasserted itself and her aches and pains drew a sudden and unexpected hiss from between her lips.

Shmi's gentle hand covered her lips, covering the sound as her eyes darted around to ensure they hadn't been heard. Shmi carefully removed her hand and held her finger to her lips to indicate the need for silence. Her face was splattered with blood, but Barriss could tell the older woman's injuries had healed; her eyes were clear and full of compassion.

Shmi tied of a strip of cloth around Barriss' head, leaning close. "We've been taken prisoner by the Tusken Raiders - the Sand People. Don't make any sudden moves or sounds and be as inconspicuous as possible."

Barriss nodded to indicate her understanding as she took stock of the older woman and their cage.

Shmi's hands were still tied together with crude cloth though Barriss could see where she'd attempted to use the bones on the cage to cut through them. As she watched, Shmi took another look around before ducking her head to her skirt. She carefully tore another strip off the liner before looking around again. Satisfied, Shmi knelt next to Barriss once more and, using her hands and legs, tied the bandage several times around her injured thigh.

Barriss frowned at the slash, unable to recall how she'd obtained such a deep wound. It hadn't been during the fight when they'd been captured. She knew that; she'd have remembered that. Inflicted afterwards, when she was unconscious? She didn't see the point. The Tusken Raiders appeared to thrive on response; one of the reasons she didn't want to give them any. But if not then, when?

The gap in her memory was disturbing even as Shmi tied off the bandage. Shmi nodded to the area beyond, indicating that Barriss was to keep watch, as she bent to her skirt once more. Barriss turned her attention to the Raider's encampment. She caught sight of her lightsaber almost immediately. It hung from one of the animal's halters like some sort of decoration. Her lips flattened in a thin line. She didn't have the mental focus to turn it on, but she might have been able to lift it from its perch. It wouldn't do her much good, however, unless she had the strength to use it.

She let the thoughts of her lightsaber go for the moment. She knew where it was and how to reach it. It was enough for the moment. Her gaze passed over the large fire in the center of the ring and the dancing, twirling figured that prostrated themselves before the high flames. She counted fifteen before they began to whirl in her vision and she had to shake her head to clear it. The guards were easily visible on this side of the circle, standing at every second shaggy creature's rump, their gaze more on the revelry than the surrounding desert.

And why should it be? These were hunters in their prime, confident of their supremacy in the world of sand and dust. Barriss counted five sentries from her position, but suspected at least two more, based on the number of shaggy creatures she could just barely see out of the corner of her eye. She noted, with satisfaction, several bodies covered with hides lying off to the side.

A movement from the corner of her eye brought her head around and she nudged Shmi who was tending to the incisions on her shoulders. Shmi desisted, dropping back to the floor of the cage.

Two Tusken Raiders approached speaking in a dialect Barriss didn't understand. She let her head loll to the side and watched them as they stopped near the cage. One turned, pointing at her and making a sweeping motion with his arms, an angry motion if she didn't mistake it. The other made a slashing move, as if to veto the notion. The first did it again, this time followed by a pounding on his chest and a high-pitched challenge noise.

Barriss would have recognized it anywhere.

A fight broke out, one Tusken Raider lunging for the other, and no holds barred. Barriss watched in mute, horrified fascination as they proceeded to beat each other, pulling hidden weapons from their robes as they attempted to scratch, claw, kick, knee and elbow their opponent. Disgusted, she turned away as steel flashed and then a howl of injury and rage sounded. Refusing to watch, she attempted to block out the sound as the howl turned from pained to a death cry and one of the Tusken Raiders rose back to his feet. They left the prisoners be, one of the others dragging the corpse to join the others beneath the hides.

It was a hallmark of what was to come.

* * *

><p>Nightly, as Anakin watched, the Tusken's played out a similar drama outside the cage of their captives. He couldn't hear them, but their body language clearly said challenge. He watched apprehensively each time they drew near his shoulders tensing. But the same challenger who had won the night before won the following night<p>

He'd been forced to watch both his mother and Barriss beaten in the early morning when they were taken from the cage. They were given little food and little water, and the welts he could see on their arms and legs brought his anger to a simmering boil. He'd had to turn his eyes away when they were beaten, for they were stripped to their skin and then punished in the new morning sunlight.

Like some kind of ritual.

His anger barely held in check, he watched, waited and planned, silently aching with each new wound he could see on them nightly. Silently wishing he dared let Barriss know he was there, that he hadn't forsaken her. But not yet. He needed that surprise for the right time.

* * *

><p>It was three days later, just after the moon had risen high in the sky and the fire built to an awesome level, that the cage rattled suddenly and the door swung open after one such challenge.<p>

Barriss' bonds were cut from behind and her arms fell from their supported position. A clawed hand snagged her hair and dragged her from the cage. She didn't fight it, instead moved with the hand to minimize the pain in her head and to avoid stepping on Shmi. Tossed down before the fire, a semi-circle of a dozen Tusken Raiders forming around her and keeping her pinned to the flames, Barriss collapsed in a heap, Feeling the blood rushing painfully back to her fingers and legs, the abused muscles screamed for time to recover.

An object was tossed in the sand by her feet; one that reflected the fire light. She didn't spare it a glance as she flexed her fingers to get the blood flowing again. The Force came to her easily, if weakly, as it helped her overcome the damage done to blood-starved tissues. Lifting her head, she feigned the inability to get to her feet as she stared around the circle.

There was hooting and hollering, or the equivalent there-of, as a challenge entered the circle. And it couldn't be anything less than a challenger. The Tusken Raider beat his chest with one fist and pointed at the object at her feet and then to her, making a grunting noise. The encouragement from the surrounding Raiders was almost deafening.

Barriss winced, feigning more injury than she had, the adrenaline pumping through her system as she dropped her gaze to the metallic object. A knife. A plain, ordinary metallic knife. She didn't make so much as a move towards it. She had no skill in close combat with weapons beyond her lightsaber and lightsaber techniques couldn't be easily adapted to other weapons for the simple fact that the lightsaber was an elegant weapon - and one that would go through most materials with ease. A knife would meet resistance, bend and possibly even break if struck with any kind of force.

Barriss lifted her gaze to the Challenger and shook her head, remaining where she was on the sand as the blood continued to feed still tingling feet and hands, prolonging the inevitable. She was a prisoner and would be forced to fight one way or another. Or they might go after Shmi.

As if reading her thoughts, one of the Raiders disappeared. He was gone for several moments before the sound of cloth being torn and a scream like nothing Barriss had ever heard echoed through the camp.

* * *

><p>Anakin was on his feet and down the cliff side in the moment it took his mother's scream to form. Even with Force-assisted speed it would take him at least a minute to reach the encampment. He reached for Barriss through the Force to let her know he was coming; to beg her help.<p>

* * *

><p>Barriss felt Anakin's presence barely a heartbeat before Shmi's scream rent the air. She snatched the knife from the sand and lunged across the circle for her distracted challenger. He was closest to the creature on which her lightsaber hung and she needed to get to it if they were going to have a chance. She called on the Force, opening herself up more completely than she ever had before, silently begging it to give her the strength and stamina she would need to save Shmi.<p>

Energy rushed through her system, stealing the pain from her head and the clouds from her mind. Focus was quick and immediate, almost instantaneous and her aim shifted. The knife went in with barely a sound, driving into the soft spot between the Tusken Raider's neck and shoulder. She kept going, bowling the challenger over bodily and rolling as she hit the sand. It swirled everywhere as she landed back on her feet and ran full out for the shaggy creature on which her lightsaber had been hung.

Reaching out to the right as her danger senses flared, she sent a wave of telekinetic energy out and up, bowling over the Tusken Raiders who were attempting to reach for her. She veered off at a ninety degree angle, the sand churning under her feet as she darted straight for Shmi.

The older woman grappled with one of the Tusken Raiders. Her clothing had been torn down one side, her skirt hanging at a dangerous angle and Barriss had little doubt of what the Tusken Raider had attempted. She ignored the hands that grabbed for her and somehow ducked the long pole that they attempted to hit her with.

The chaos that was erupting around her intensified as she grabbed the pole and lifted with Force enhanced strength. The pole snapped in the middle, leaving her with a weapon as she dove straight at Shmi's attacker. The staff struck him high in the chest and sent him sprawling as Barriss regained her feet and squared herself off in front of Shmi, facing her would-be attackers.

The equivalent of laughter, or what she'd come to know as laughter, filled the air as the Raiders watched her swing the pole at any who dared come near. One lifted a rifle and Barriss reacted instantly, sending the pole out in a sharp arc to knock it side. It fired and the shaggy animals stirred.

"That's right," she told them through lips that felt like sand. "You fire in here and your precious creatures will run off, leaving you stranded."

The creatures rushed her, apparently angered by the taunt and the pole snapped out once, twice before suddenly an arc of blue dived in severing the arm that was reaching for her at the shoulder. Shmi cried out and the blue arc whirled away. Barriss felt Anakin's presence, his tightly leashed anger; she could feel it like it was her own.

Her back protested as she lunged sideways to avoid a strike, bringing the pole around to smash into one of the Raider's heads. She felt herself falter, the pain screaming through limbs abused by days of mal-nourishment, lack of water and physical abuse. Turning just as one of the Tusken Raiders made to strike her from behind, the blunt end of the rifle slammed into her collar bone with a sickening crunch.

She wasn't aware of making a noise, but suddenly Anakin was beside her. He reached out, grasping her hand as she fell, and strength slid through her system like a bullet train. His strength. He was opening her up to the Force through his own connection to it. It was blinding, like standing too close to a sun going nova. Her knees locked, her pain disappeared, and suddenly she was standing back to back with him without remembering how. Shmi crouched between them, keeping low and out of the way.

"Where's your lightsaber?"

"Third creature from the fire on the left." Barriss read his plan as clearly as if it had been her own; as if she was sharing his thoughts.

"I'm going for it. Spin... _Now!_"

She dropped the staff, spinning, her hands outstretched. Anakin slid his lightsaber into her hands with an effortless move and then leapt straight up and away; out of the circle of enemies. The Raiders didn't realize he was missing from the circle she continued to use until the sound of a second lightsaber ignighting brought them around.

Anakin dove in from behind, striking them down left and right as he cut his way into the center. The Tusken Raiders fell back as the two lightsabers whirled in tandem, blocking, sheering and killing without pause. The bodies of the fallen were left where they were as the living scrambled away, towards the waiting Banthas.

Anakin made to follow and Barriss felt his anger starting to sweep in, to take control. She latched onto it and _squeezed_ with her mind, pushing it away from him and drawing it towards her.

Anakin stopped, as if she's pulled a cord on a marionette, and took an uncontrolled step backward.

The Raiders made their Bantha's and, with screams that echoed through the narrow canyon, urged the beasts to un-seen speeds. The Banthas, as if spooked, took of at a surprisingly quick run. The Tusken Raiders fled the scene, leaving behind Anakin, Shmi and a badly battered Barriss. Barriss deactivated Anakin's lightsaber as the dust trail settled, the adrenaline still pumping through her system, her Force link to Anakin keeping her on her feet.

Anakin knelt next to his mother and enveloped her in a tight, relieved hug as Barriss kept her gaze beyond. A shiver spiraled its way down her spine as she felt the trauma from her wounds starting to seep in through her Force induced strength. Anakin helped his mother to her feet before reaching out one hand to Barriss. He caught and held it, and she could _feel_ the link he'd forged between them. A link that wasn't only keeping her on her feet, but keeping the impact of her injuries at bay.

Anakin was practically feeding her the energy of the living Force to sustain her strength.

"Anakin?"

"We have to move." He replied in answer. "They'll be back with more warriors. Owen and Cleigg should be somewhere out there trying to find us."

"Didn't you bring a comlink?" Shmi asked, looking at him with a small smile.

Anakin flushed and ducked his head. "I don't have their codes; I didn't think about that when I started out."

"Give it here." Shmi held out one bruised and swollen hand. "I know those codes"

Barriss watched the interaction between mother and son and felt the ache in her heart that had nothing to do with her injuries. She finally, after several days captive with Shmi, understood a fraction of what Anakin felt for her. For the few days they'd been together, Shmi had tended her like a daughter, silently, patiently, never judging and always with that quiet core of strength.

She turned away but didn't drop Anakin's hand. Her injuries were forcing her to call on him heavily and if they were attacked again, she couldn't risk draining him. She let go of his hand suddenly, taking a deep breath and focusing herself inward.

Darkness claimed her almost immediately after she severed her link to Anakin.

* * *

><p>The line of mourners had finally receded to a small, steady stream, though the grief remained palatable, the people had accepted the news of their beloved Senator's death. Obi-Wan leaned towards where Luminara now stood beside him, having come to relieve his posting. Since their Padawans had disappeared, they'd taken to standing guard in opposite shifts of no more than fours hours.<p>

"Any word?"

She shook her head fractionally as she stopped at his side. "Concerned?"

"Aren't you?"

She slanted a look at him, refraining from an inappropriate smile. "Barriss is-" Luminara stopped mid-sentence, the blood draining from her already pale face. She swayed as her eyes unfocused, reaching out for what had caused a sudden and primal jerk in her gut. The Force sang through her veins, almost humming in its urgency. She felt pain, physical to the extreme, as if someone had dipped her in hot oil. Violence erupted in her head, shining out in direct contrast to the strength she felt failing only to be bolstered by an unknown, but almost violent force.

"Barriss!"

Obi-Wan's arm around her was a dimly felt comfort as she knew she was being eased into a chair. She ducked her head, rubbing her temples for one minutes before taking a deep breath and straightening. She called on the Force to calm her nerves even as the line of mourners paid them no attention, continuing past the casket at a slow and steady pace.

Obi-Wan split his attention between them and Luminara, finally voicing his question. "What did you see?"

"Nothing," her lips thinned into a firm line. She brushed off the slight pressure of his hands as he attempted to get her to remain in the chair and pushed back to her feet. Keeping her voice low, she was unable to keep a testy tone from her words. "I didn't _see_ anything, Obi-Wan. I felt it."

"Felt what?"

"Agony." Luminara's face was the color of Obi-Wan's shirt, the black tattoo standing out in stark, contrast. "I have never felt that kind of pain."

Obi-Wan glanced at the line of mourners. They'd tapered off, but mourning would continue for as long as there were people to see Amidala's body. Had one of them caused the emotional outburst Luminara had felt? And if so, why had she alone felt it? Obi-Wan wasn't conceited, but he knew he was more sensitive to emotions than Luminara; it had been proven time and time again. "Do you know from where?"

"You didn't feel it?"

"Not agony, no."

"But you felt something?"

Obi-Wan nodded once. "A surge in the Force, like someone was tapping into the very fiber of the galaxy. It was gone in a heartbeat."

Luminara took a deep breath, her face carefully blank. "Something has happened to Barriss."


	7. Chapter 7

**Part 7**

"Barriss!"

Anakin leapt at her as she cut herself off from his support; he barely caught her before she collapsed to the ground. He cradled her close, brushing her hair from her forehead. Her skin was hot to the touch - and not from exertion.

"She's badly injured," Shmi told him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "She needs to rest, really rest, if she's going to recover."

Anakin hugged Barriss' limp form to him in silence for a single moment, his head bowed over hers, his lips by her ear. "You're not going to die, Barriss. I won't let you! _You are not going to die!_"

She didn't twitch, didn't so much as move and for a moment he thought she had slipped away from him, right there in his arms. Frantically he reached for her pulse. Shaking fingers found nothing; except she was still warm. He stretched out to her in the Force, finding her presence still strong but as if from a great distance.

Focused inward.

He reached to her silently, seeking reassurance that she was alright. Her Force aura shifted and suddenly he understood. She'd placed herself in a hibernation healing trance. He drew back so not to disturb it, knowing even as he did that nothing would disturb it until someone said her safety word - or she came out of it on her own.

Anakin let out a shuddering breath and fought the sting of tears behind his eyes. _She's alright,_ he told himself firmly, fighting down his fears. _She's just in a healing trance. She's fine, she's not dead._

"Anakin?"

He looked up and then stood, Barriss cradled in his arms. "She's placed herself in a healing trance. I think she'll be alright."

Shmi held out the comlink. "My fingers are too swollen to use it. If I give you the frequency, will that be enough?"

Anakin nodded. He moved to where the fire was still roaring merrily away through the night. Placing Barriss on the sand nearby, he gently lowered her head before brushing her hair from her cheek. He was reluctant to leave her but he had things to do. He moved back to his mother and assisted her to the fire, helping her sit near Barriss.

Then, he moved off to remove the corpses of their battle to a further distance. The desert's scavengers wouldn't likely be out until morning's light, but he didn't want to chance a midnight encounter with both his mother and Barriss incapacitated. He couldn't and wouldn't risk walking through the desert at night with two wounded women. For the moment they would have to stay where they were and make the best of things.

Once the corpses were gone, he began sorting through the supplies the Tusken Raiders had left in their haste to escape the lightsaber wielding duo. Many blankets, made of Bantha fur, were stacked in crates and in the bed rolls that littered the site. He collected as many of these as he could carry and brought them back to his mother and Barriss. Without the Bantha wall, the brisk desert wind was cool, almost cold as the temperatures outside the fire's range were still plummeting. He wrapped his mother in several before helping her wrap Barriss in a few more.

He collected more and then retrieved the cage that had housed them for the last few days. He found a knife - the same knife Barriss had used to kill her challenger - and slashed two of the bindings holding the floor in place. It swung out, like another wall, and he proceeded to unwind the cage until it surrounded them on three sides, leaving only the fire side open. He drove the bone spikes into the ground and placed the small boxes the Tuskens had left behind at the base to keep it from toppling. He wove several of the furs through the bones next, overlapping them to form a weather shield. Finally he collected the last of the furs and piled them on the ground of the small shelter.

He helped his mother shift first so she could recline comfortably along one wall. He moved Barriss closer to the fire for a few minutes as he finished his task and then moved her back inside, grateful for his mother's assistance as she guided him with soft words. Barriss was placed between them, her face pale in the flickering fire light. Shmi gently, and with motherly attention, moved Barriss' hair to the side and carefully stroked her forehead.

Anakin smiled. "You like her."

Shmi didn't look up. "She did save my life, son."

"That's not what I mean," he did one last visual survey around their small camp before settling himself on the furs beside Barriss, placing both lightsabers within easy reach. He wanted to pull Barriss close and sleep with her in his arms - just to remind himself that she was alright - but didn't dare with his mother in the small hut. "You've been tending her wounds like you used to with me."

Shmi reached across Barriss and placed her hand on his. "She's a wonderful young woman, Ani. She's selfless - how could I not like her?" Shmi squeezed his hand and then let go. "She's also very lost."

"Lost?"

Anakin stretched out on his side, his senses spread beyond the hut and fire - alert for Danger - even as he concentrated on his mother's words.

"Lost," Shmi told him with a small smile. "Much like you were before the Jedi came to take you to train."

"Barriss is happy being a Jedi Healer. It's what she's always wanted."

"Are you sure of that?"

"It's what she said she always wanted." Anakin frowned. "But I don't think she really got the choice. Most Jedi are practically raised by the Temple. The council even told me I was too old to start my training when I was first brought before them."

"Too old?" Shmi's eye crinkled with humor. "You were only nine!"

"Master Qui-Gon wasn't able to convince them that they should train me before he died." Anakin admitted, that wound still somewhat painful and festering. He'd never gotten over that particular slight. "It took his death and a promise he extracted from Obi-Wan - his apprentice - for them to agree."

Shmi reached across Barriss and caught his hand again. "Qui-Gon was a good man, but you can't be angry with the council forever, Ani. They did what they thought was best at the time"

"I know." Anakin eased it forward to it was resting on Barriss' stomach, gently linking his fingers with his mother's and staying in contact with Barriss at the same time. "I think it pushed me to work harder, though. Master Obi-Wan says I'm more powerful than most Knights he knows, so maybe they're just afraid of me."

"Or for you." Shmi's gentle words had an effect Obi-Wan scolding's on the matter never had. Anakin lifted his gaze back to hers as she continued. "Power is a responsibility, Ani, not just a privilege. You're special. Your Master sees that, I see that; Barriss sees that. If we can see it there may be other people with less than your best intentions at heart who can see it. By allowing your anger at the council to dictate how your training proceeded you could be opening yourself up to failure."

"Are you sure you're not a Jedi, mom?" he asked with a half-smile.

"I'm just worried about you," she told him honestly. Her face was swollen, puffy and starting to bruise but the smile in her eyes warmed his heart. "I want you to succeed in whatever you choose to do, not hold yourself back because of something that isn't in your power to change."

Anakin was silent for long moments before collecting his lightsaber. "I'm going to check the perimeter again. Will you be alright?"

Shmi let him go and Anakin ducked outside. The wind had kicked up harder and he could hear it blowing over the rim of the canyon, but the flames of the fire stayed a strong barrier to wind and sand. He walked the perimeter, checking on the bodies of the Tusken Raiders even as he thought back to what his mother had said.

She was right.

He wasn't able to control what the council's initial reaction to him was, but he'd done little to dissuade them from their initial beliefs over the last ten years. He'd spent more time trying to prove he was _worthy _of the "Chosen One" mantle, to prove that he wasn't the risk they all thought him to be. He was reckless and arrogant when it came to his abilities; he knew it. It was a simple fact. In some ways he was more powerful than Obi-Wan and wasn't afraid to rub it in his Master's face.

Looking out to the darkness, he stretched his senses beyond the perimeter and searched for danger. His senses told him the Tusken Raiders wouldn't be back before morning, if they were back at all. He continued to walk, his thoughts inward even as he scanned the area.

Obi-Wan didn't deserve his scorn. The man had agreed to train him under duress - Anakin knew it as surely as he knew his own name. Even if his Master had never admitted to it, he knew he'd not been the first choice of Padawan for him. Anakin sighed. Obi-Wan deserved someone who benefited from his wisdom. Not that he didn't - he just had more exciting things to do than meditate on why something was the way it was.

But perhaps that was the point.

Straightening his shoulders Anakin turned to look at the small hut near the fire and took a deep breath. Barriss was in there. Barriss, who'd risked her very life to help him save his mother. Who still might lose hers if they didn't get her back somewhere safe before the threat returned. With determined steps he walked back towards the small enclosure. He would call Owen and Cleigg immediately and arrange for pick up before morning.

* * *

><p>Anakin keyed in the code his mother had given him and then stepped back outside. "Lars, this is Skywalker, do you copy?"<p>

Static raced back through the comlink. He moved away from the hut and tried again. "Lars, this is Skywalker, do you copy?"

He continued to move away from the hut, trying to raise them at different points inside the camp with little success. He returned to his mother. "Mom, the walls of the canyon are blocking the transmission. I'm going to have to climb if I want a clear reception."

"We'll be fine," Shmi assured him, waving him away.

"Are you sure? I can do this in the morning."

"They might be back by morning," she reminded him. "If you do it now, Cleigg can have the men from the nearby settlements out with him to give them assistance."

Anakin looked to Barriss' still form and then back to his mom. "Are you sure? I'll only be a minute away, but a lot can happen in a minute."

"I'll use the time you're gone to bind her wounds. She's got a couple of broken bones I'd like to set properly before she goes and heals them wrong."

"Broken bones?" Anakin dropped to his knees in alarm.

Shmi waved him away, "I heard her collarbone snap for sure. Go. Get help. Whatever I do will be painless while she's in her trance."

Anakin looked torn. Barriss had been severely hurt? Why hadn't he felt it when he'd been feeding her Force energy? Or had he felt it and his need for her help had simply been great enough to ignore it? Had his actions caused her more harm?

"Did I... make it worse?"

Shmi wasn't looking at him anymore as her fingers traveled over the ridge of bone that Anakin could clearly see shouldn't have been there. "How could you make it worse, Ani?"

"I was augmenting her strength, letting her fight without feeling her injuries."

"How?"

Anakin shrugged, feeling a little uncomfortable with the topic. He wasn't even sure _how _he'd done it, just that it had been necessary. Kind of like finding Barriss had been necessary so he'd followed the pull of her presence. "I sensed she needed it so I gave it to her."

Shmi's lips tilted into a small smile. "I didn't know you could do that with The Force."

"Me either." His admission was soft, underlain with confusion. "Will she be alright?"

"She just needs rest - but in some place safe. Go. Get help. We'll be fine until your return."

Anakin leaned forward and planted a gentle kiss on his mother's cheek. "I won't go far or be very long."

Shmi waved him away and turned back to tending her patient. Anakin shook his head, feeling the guilt already gnawing on his gut trying to work its way higher at the danger he'd placed Barriss in. Danger they'd come searching for and believed to have avoided. He pushed the thoughts away as he ducked out of the shelter and, with a final scan of the surrounding area, headed for where he'd been camped out before the attack.

Hopefully it would be high enough to get a signal through to Owen and Cleigg and they'd be able to bring help before morning.

* * *

><p><em>Mists drifted past as she hung suspended in silence. <em>

_Tranquility. _

_Serenity. _

_Focus. _

_The embrace of the Force swirled around her, cradling her in a net of safety and solitude. Noise and time had no meaning as she floated in weightlessness, her conscious mind adrift in the sensation-less void. She was comforted by the lack of sensation, rejuvenated by the freedom from worldly pains, aware only of the ebb and flow of the Force. _

_Within her. _

_Around her._

_Through her._

_New threads brought vision and rejoicing, even as threads ebbed and died, both symbols of life and death, a perfect balance, a harmony of life that showed a full circle. A circle where she now found her own thread connected. The void didn't seem affected by her realization of the strands around her reflecting each of the people she knew. One large strand connected her to her Master; threads accompanying each other on a boundless journey; a journey that would someday part ways._

_The threads of her friends were small, lasting only moments being entwined with hers. _

_The emotional devotion required for truly deep friendships were forbidden to Jedi, and yet her Master's thread and hers were bound far more tightly than she'd realized. Joined in ways she hadn't expected. Their personal philosophies were similar and yet, even with that closeness, there were ties that overcame those._

_Anakin's thread wrapped tightly around hers, closer than even her Master's as they stretched beyond the life span of the Master/Padawan bond. She shied away from the knowledge, wondering absently what good the knowledge would do her until she fully understood what was happening, yet even as the strands faded from view, the image of Anakin's wrapped as tightly around hers - as hers was his - remained ingrained in her mind. It faded last, almost ominous in its portent, and if she'd had a physical body she'd surely have shivered._

_Anakin's destiny and her own were entwined. That much was clear. _

_The only question now was how?_

* * *

><p>Anakin returned to find his mother had fallen asleep. Barriss' arm was resting across her chest, bound in place by strips of his mother's skirt. The bump that had been on her collar was smooth now, though Anakin suspected it wasn't healed - simply being held in place by his mother's careful wrapping. The visible wounds Barriss had suffered were all patched and bound, her head resting on a pile of furs. She'd been covered in one, but the small shelter was proving its worth and it was warm enough they wouldn't likely need the furs all night. At least, not until the fuel in the fire was consumed.<p>

He'd managed to reach Owen - barely - on the comlink. His step-brother had been able to understand enough to get him about half-way to their location, if Anakin had heard correctly, and they'd try and contact him once there. Thankfully, Owen and Cleigg had been following the trail behind him at various paces so they weren't days away - merely hours.

If he was lucky they'd be able to contact him again shortly and then they'd be on site before dawn.

Settling down, he leaned back on one elbow as he watched his mother and Barriss. He smiled faintly. There was an almost protective set in his mother's posture, despite the fact she'd fallen asleep in a position that looked uncomfortable. Shmi's body formed a protective half-circle about Barriss' head, as if to shield her from the unpleasantness of consciousness.

Anakin didn't sleep, didn't know if he'd be able to sleep again while on Tatooine, and contented himself with watching his mother and Barriss sleep. Shmi's even breathing was calming, soothing in ways he'd never suspected possible. They slept the deep sleep of the healing, and the bruises he could see on his mother's face and arms were a source of guilt - but at the same time thankfulness. That she could be _healed_ of her injuries was a blessing he'd not expected to receive.

He reached out one hand, grasping a tendril of Barriss' hair between his thumb and forefinger and gently rubbing the strand between them. It was oily, greasy from being unwashed, and he suspected it was covered in all manner of things that he'd been unable to see from his vantage point. But he didn't care. The fact he had the opportunity to touch it, unimpeded and uninterrupted, was more than enough. He wound the lock gently around his index finger until his hand came in contact with the rest of the brown mass.

Closing his eyes, he reached for Barriss along the same line he'd used to track her for the last several days. He felt the pull of the Force as it opened to his call, beckoning him home like a lover as it wrapped him in a cocoon of power. Barriss was there; he could feel her. Her presence was muted, even to him, even with his physical connection to her as the backs of his fingers settled against the bare skin of her throat. She didn't twitch and didn't seem to recognize his presence.

He _pushed_, searching for away to communicate with her, to convey that he was there to watch over her until she was healed enough to come out of her trance.

It was as if she was wrapped in protective layers of power. Power she'd pulled inwards, focusing on herself to prevent and diminish her injuries. It was an impressive display for Anakin as he _felt_ the efficiency from the outside. Her energies were focus so completely that if something or someone had hurt her physically, she'd have never reacted. Her body simply would have absorbed the impact and, providing the injuries weren't fatal, continued to heal.

Anakin drew back, leaving her in the protective embrace of the Force, and opened his eyes as he cast his senses once more outward toward the perimeter of their camp. Barriss' condition concerned him, mostly because he was terrified down to his toes that he'd caused her more harm than good by giving her the means to sustain herself through the battle. That it had been necessary to effect their escape successfully did little to comfort him.

He sighed, pulling his hand away from her and letting her hair fall loosely back to the furs. Barriss would need time and space to heal and it was his fault. There should have been a way to pull off rescue without putting either her or his mother in danger. He settled back, his gaze moving to the fire, and listened to the wind whipping over top the canyon walls, wailing its way through the desert.

A part of him empathized; he wanted to scream with frustration too.


	8. Chapter 8

**Part 8**

"Skywalker, this is Lars; do you copy?"

Anakin scooped up the comlink as it crackled to life less than an hour before dawn. He and his mother had been up since Anakin had felt the first disturbing signs of a force returning to collect their prizes. Tusken Raiders attacked only in superior numbers where victory was assured and Anakin doubted this time would be any different. He wasn't anxious to find out what kind of "superior force" the Tusken Raiders felt was necessary to deal with two Jedi.

Shmi had helped him dismantle the shelter, turning the walls into a travois where they could keep Barriss semi-prone. They piled the furs high after ensuring the still-unconscious Jedi was strapped to the make-shift litter so she'd be warm.

Together, with Anakin calling on the Force to take most of Barriss' weight, they'd hauled her up two levels of the canyon and were resting before making a try for the next two.

"This is Skywalker, reading you loud and clear."

"Anakin, what's your position?"

"Same as before. Both are wounded and need medical attention; the sooner the better."

"I'm fine, Ani."

Anakin waved for his mother to be quiet as static cut through the first of Owen's message. "-there soon. Can you wait that long?"

"I didn't copy, say again?"

"I said-"

Static cut Owen off again, this time garbling the last of the transmission so completely Anakin almost threw the comlink away in frustration. Stupid things were useless over a long distance.

"Lars, you're breaking up. I'll contact you when we're higher. Skywalker out."

There was a bust of static before he flipped the comlink off, silently cursing the topography of the canyon. The signal had been clear at the start and, as Owen moved closer, likely become blocked by the ridges. On the upside, Owen was close enough for direct, clear communication which meant he was only hours away.

Anakin looked back towards the path the Tusken Raiders had taken to flee the area and a line creased his brow. The question was, would Own reach them before the Raiders returned or would he be forced to fight to ensure his mother's escape? Or would he be left behind once Owen arrived, forced to fight, flee or evade the Raiders until such a time he could make his own way back?

He never knew.

Owen arrived before the end of the second hour in his father's speeder. His father's empty speeder. He was alone and the speeder had been stripped of everything possible to make it light and fast. It carried only enough supplies for a couple of days.

The repulsors wound down as Shmi moved to greet Owen, leaving Anakin with Barriss. He crouched beside the litter, brushed the hair that was continuously blowing across her face away. She remained still, a silent shadow of her former self as all of her energies were still concentrated on healing. "Hang in there, Barriss. I promise I'll get you out of this."

"Anakin!"

He waved one hand to indicate he'd heard and then bent closer to the young woman on the stretcher. Sliding his hands beneath her carefully, he lifted her into his arms. She settled against him, completely pliant, her head shifting to the crook of his shoulder even as her arm hung listlessly by her side. Leaving the litter, Anakin carried her to the speeder. Shmi was already inside, and held her arms out.

Anakin placed Barriss on the seat beside his mother, leaning her against Shmi's form before looking for his step-brother.

Owen was staring at the mat of Bantha furs with resignation and Anakin went to join him, reading the look on his face accurately.

"We can't bring them."

"I know." Owen didn't look happy about it. "They'd bring in money to expand the farm, that's all."

"It's not worth their lives. Besides, Barriss is wrapped in one of them; you can have once she's healed."

"One..." Owen shook his head. "Maybe just one more?"

"Do you want to be able to run? Those things are heavy; plus the Raiders might forego chasing us if we leave their gear." Anakin picked up one end of the travois and hauled it to the edge of the canyon. "One really is enough, you know."

"It'll have to be. What are you going to do with that?"

"Watch."

Anakin stepped back, raising one hand and reaching for the Force. It flowed into him with almost painful force as he directed it immediately. The stretcher lifted into the air and then out over the canyon. It descended quickly to the ground and, as Owen watched with ill concealed envy, Anakin sent it swishing back and forth across the sand, obliterating whatever traces they'd left for the sand people the follow. It eventually came to rest beside the singed earth that had been the fire, which is where Anakin left it.

"That should do it. By the time they think to check up here, we'll be long gone."

"Must be nice to be a Jedi."

"It has its perks." Anakin's gaze traveled back to where Barriss' still form was resting beside his mother. "But it has its draw backs too. Let's get out of here; Barriss is in bad shape."

Owen didn't argue as he slid into the pilot's seat, leaving Anakin to cling to the almost non-existent back seat with his mother and Barriss snugly tucked into the front passenger side. The speeder coughed to life after a moment and then sent them hurtling back across the sand dunes towards the Lars ranch, the Nabooian transport and the bacta tank that they'd need to find on Naboo.

* * *

><p>Their trek took several days back to the Lars homestead. Days in which Barriss remained in her unconscious and unchanged state.<p>

It gave Anakin a chance to think as Owen tended to Shmi like a dutiful son. Owen used the speeder's medkit on both Barriss and Shmi until the supplies were exhausted. After the first night, Anakin had told him not to bother treating Barriss' wounds. She was in a healing trance; only a bacta tank would accelerate it now.

Owen, taking the hint, left him alone and Anakin stayed beside Barriss.

Refusing even his mother's help to tend her on this leg of the journey, guilt gnawed at him from all directions. The sinking sensation had spread from his gut, making it difficult to keep more than a few bites of food down. Slowly, given the time to think about the past few days, Anakin came to a single conclusion that was inescapable.

He was completely responsible for Barriss' condition.

Completely and utterly.

The Tusken Raiders had injured her to the point of collapse. He'd given her the strength to fight beyond that collapse and, in doing so, had pushed both her body and mind beyond the limits of pain it could readily accept.

After tending to her wounds - having gotten a good look at them - he felt sick. Sick at heart to know that this young woman, a woman he found himself completely enthralled with at the best of times, was injured because of his arrogance. Arrogance in thinking that he could sustain her simply on Force energy. Arrogance that, because he was the Chosen One, he could save them on his own. Arrogance in thinking his path and choice were the only one; the only _right_ one.

He sat beside Barriss, sleeping little, his legs against his chest as he stared into the fire night after night, his arms folded on his knees. Barriss didn't stir, didn't so much as twitch - not physically and not in the Force. Anakin was hard pressed to do something, anything, that would show him some sign of life. He would have given much for her to open her eyes, to look at him with those sparkling orbs full of lift and excitement, and tell him he was being silly. That he needed to look beyond his personal feelings. To tell him to smarten up.

Their third night out, he found himself speaking to her quietly while Owen and his mother were sleeping across the fire.

"Barriss, I don't know if you can hear me, but I wanted you to know I'm sorry." His voice was barely a whisper as he stretched out beside her, propping his head on his hand, his expression solemn as he stared at her face. "I'm sorry I did this to you. I know I'm stronger in the Force than you are, I know I'm stronger than any Jedi - even Master Yoda - but I didn't know what that exposure would do to you."

He reached forward in a movement that had become almost habit over the past few days and took her hand in his. Drawing it towards him, he gently kissed the backs of her fingers. "I didn't mean to hurt you, Barriss. I swear; if I had known what I know now, I would never have endangered your safety with it. Trading your life for mom's isn't fair; but I know you'd probably tell me it was more than fair."

He played with her fingers, gently rubbing the backs against his chin. "I miss you, Barriss. I miss you a lot. I miss your smile and your laugh. The easy way you can balance work and play. I miss hearing you scold me for overusing the Force even! I can't bear the thought that you might not wake up. It'd be like... like losing Padmé all over again only this time there won't be anyone here to catch me. You'll be gone and I'll be alone. I don't want to be alone, Barriss; I don't want to be here without you."

Her even, slow breathing continued, giving no indication that she heard him, but it didn't matter. If she heard him or not, he needed to talk to someone and she - awake or not - made the perfect listener. Besides, if she remembered it later, she wouldn't ridicule him for it. He knew it as surely as he knew his own name. Barriss' gentle nature would never allow her to use something said in confidence as a weapon against him.

Anakin's gaze drifted to where his mother slept near Owen, a blaster rifle at hand in case of emergency. Yet, he somehow knew they'd moved beyond the crux point. If the Tuskens had been intending to torture and kill his mother, they'd had their opportunity and failed. After their disastrous defeat, they weren't likely to try and snatch her again when there was easier prey to be had. It filled him with a warm feeling to know that his mother was safe, but that feeling was incomplete.

"You have to get better Barriss; I'll make sure you get better. Somehow. I need you to keep me on the path I'm walking. I need you to show me what's beyond, if anything, this thing between us. And, on some level, I think you need it too."

He kissed the back of her hand once more before placing it back on her stomach. He rose silently to his feet and stepped out of the fire light. Little more than a shadow, he walked the perimeter of their camp and cast his senses outward for danger. But a part of him, a large and almost overpowering part, stayed next to Barriss, basking in her communion with the Force that was working to heal her.

* * *

><p>Cleigg enveloped Shmi in a hug the second her feet touched the ground as she climbed down from the speeder. The affectionate, proprietary gesture left Anakin with no doubt his mother was in good hands. Cleigg was a gruff man, but it was plain fro the tears in his eyes that he loved Shmi. Any doubts Anakin might have had about his mother's current situation would have been washed away then - if any had remained.<p>

Anakin nodded to Beru where the soft spoken woman stood off to the side, waiting patiently for Owen to park completely. Anakin lifted a still unconscious Barriss from the speeder before Owen headed for the garage to park it.

Barriss seemed lighter daily. The more he carried her, the more concerned Anakin was becoming as her weight seemed to be dropping as her body fed on reserves to keep her alive without outside sustenance. Soon, very soon, he felt it would be necessary to wake her if for no other reason than to eat. Not that she was emaciated or atrophying yet, but he wasn't going to let her get to that point before acting. She was suffering because he'd brought her here, because of his Force visions, and it was his responsibility to see her safe.

Arm in arm, Shmi and Cleigg led the way into the homestead as Anakin trailed behind. He politely declined sitting with his mother and her husband, instead opted to take Barriss back to the bed she'd been generously given until their stay was over.

Anakin lay her gently down, brushing her hair back from her forehead even as he carefully arranged her in a comfortable looking position. She still didn't stir, and he was starting to wonder if she'd traveled so far into the Force that she wouldn't be able to make it back. Or if it was possible she'd been so gravely injured by his interference she didn't _want_ to come back.

"There's little you can do for her."

"I know."

Shmi stepped into the room, watching her son with his young woman. "What are you going to do, Ani?"

He brushed his fingers over Barriss' hand, torn. She needed medical attention and likely the help of her master, and he wanted to stay and spend time with his mother - an opportunity not likely to come again. He swallowed hard. It was only because of Barriss he _had_ his mother and he knew his choice was really no choice at all. "I have to take her back to Naboo. Her Master is there and can probably help; she's a fully trained Jedi Healer."

"Then you shouldn't waste any time." Shmi placed her hand on Anakin's shoulder and squeezed. "Promise me."

Anakin reached up to squeeze her fingers. "Anything, mom."

"Promise me you'll send word when she recovers. Even if it's simply to say that she'll be fine."

He smiled, nodding. "I promise. If I don't, I'll make sure Barriss writes you herself."

Shmi squeezed his shoulder again and then stepped back, out of his reach. "Then you'd best be going before she makes herself worse."

Anakin took a deep breath before rising to his feet. He turned, opening his arms, and Shmi stepped in to hug him firmly. Anakin ducked his head close to hers, inhaling her scent; that familiar, loving scent he would never forget, and squeezed carefully. Shmi's hug was just as fierce.

"Be well, Ani. I love you."

"I love you too, mom. Be happy with Cleigg."

"I am." Shmi stepped back. "Go. Barriss needs your help now."

He did as instructed, collecting Barriss in his arms once more, before leaving the room and climbing back towards the sandy surface. He made his way back to the Nabooian craft and laid Barriss at the Medical station before leaving briefly to say his goodbyes.

The Larses and Beru understood the necessity of his quick departure. Anakin offered to take his mother too, giving her the chance to meet his mentor as well as soak in a bacta tank to heal the last of her injuries, but she declined. Cleigg assured Anakin she was in good hands, as Beru and Shmi both knew something of healing and she'd be fine. Reluctant to take the man's advice, but finding little recourse, Anakin simply thanked them for their hospitality and re-boarded the ship.

Waiting for him, to his surprise, was C3P0, hunched over Barriss' unconscious form and hooking her into a nutrient stream. Thankful for the help, Anakin simply clapped the droid on the shoulder before heading to the cockpit to begin his pre-flight check.

Barely minutes later, the engines having been kept at a decent temperature thanks to the sandy world's daily highs, he was angling the speedy little craft upwards and out of the atmosphere. Setting his course for Naboo, he punched the hyper drive and prayed the delay hadn't hurt Barriss beyond repair.


	9. Chapter 9

**Part 9**

Anakin brought the ship to land in the same location where they'd "borrowed" it from. He unhooked Barriss from the nutrient drip and collected her once more, despite 3P0's protests that Mistress Offee needed to remain stationary.

Anakin palmed open the ramp at the controls and began striding down it before it had opened all the way. The sight that greeted him wasn't one he was expecting.

Luminara stood silently, a lone figure in the hangar bay, with a stretcher beside her. She motioned for him to come closer and Anakin did, placing Barriss on the stretcher as he did. He looked at his friend's mentor with apprehension, but Luminara simply bent to her Padawan and began a quick examination. She made a small noise that might have been approval before finally straightening again.

"I expect a full report on what happened to Barriss, Padawan Skywalker."

"Yes, Master." He glanced at Barriss. "Would you like it now?"

"Later. Once she's been placed in the bacta tank. Come."

Anakin fell into step behind Luminara as the Jedi hurried the repulsor-stretcher through the bay and out into the hallways. They were deserted, eerily so, as they headed for the medical lab.

Anakin felt a prickly, uneasy sensation eating its way through his gut. "Master?"

Luminara tilted her head, but didn't say anything.

"Where is everyone?"

Luminara stopped for a half second, meeting his gaze. "At Senator Amidala's funeral and commemoration ceremony - as you should be."

Anakin flushed. He'd almost forgotten, with everything that had happened in the last week, that today was the day of Padmé's funeral. A funeral for a young woman who likely hadn't cared one way or the other if he attended. "Should I go?"

"Your presence is not necessary, Padawan Skywalker." Luminara resumed their quick pace, unerringly leading him straight into a deserted med bay. "I, however, will require your help. The bacta tank will need to be prepped for several minutes before Barriss can be placed within. Have you ever done so?"

"No, Master."

"Then it is time you learn."

Anakin didn't argue. He simply followed her instructions as he considered his options for telling the story of their disappearance and Barriss' injuries. He didn't notice Luminara watching him speculatively, nor of the way the Jedi Master lifted Barriss' injured arm and took careful note of the charm which had somehow stayed connected through their adventure. He didn't notice anything but his own thoughts until Luminara submerged herself in the Force and the ripple brought his head up.

Luminara's eyes were closed, her fingers splayed across Barriss' cranium as she sought to communicate with her Padawan. Barriss remained still, even as Anakin silently willed her to move.

Then, suddenly, one hand twitched and Barriss let out a mournful sound of pain like Anakin had never before heard.

He fled, darting from the room like a terrified child as the sound of Barriss' pain reverberated inside him like, cutting like a knife. He stopped in the hallway, leaning against the wall as he sucked in deep breaths of air, trying to banish the sound from his soul. He banged the back of his head against the wall, silently raging at himself for his careless stupidity.

Sliding to the floor as the starch in his knees gave out, he didn't realize he was crying until he covered his face with his hands and they came away wet.

"Anakin?"

His head snapped up.

Luminara stood in the doorway. Gone was the stern, disapproving mentor and in her place was a concerned healer. "Are you all right?"

Anakin laughed harshly. "All right? All right, Master? I did that to her. _Me!_ I made her injuries worse. I forced her to hibernate to maintain her life force and now... now..." his voice cracked on a sob. "How can I face her when I know I hurt her?"

"Did you know what your actions would do, Anakin? Did you intend to cause her injury?"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Everything." Luminara crouched beside him. "Our intentions dictate how the Force is used. If you intended to hurt Barriss, I would have serious concerns to address with your Master. By your reaction, I suspect this is not the case. I suspect you did whatever it was you did to try and help her, and _inadvertently_ caused her harm."

Anakin looked away. "It doesn't matter, Master."

Her fingers dug into his chin as she grabbed it and dragged it back so they were looking eye to eye. "Obi-Wan must have the patience of a saint to deal with you, Padawan Skywalker. Barriss has come to no lasting harm; she will recover fully."

"Thank the Force!"

Luminara arched an eyebrow, releasing his chin. "Indeed. The Force is sometimes a double edged blade. It can both hurt and heal - as you have seen - even with the best of intentions."

"I swear I didn't mean to, Master. I would never... could never..."

Luminara pushed to her feet. "Barriss will be in the tank for the rest of the day; there is little more either you or I can do for her until she finishes the cycle. Come; we should inform your Master that you have returned."

He stared at her in silence for a moment, not quite believing his ears. "Just like that?"

"Sometimes, Padawan Skywalker, it is easiest to speak with someone immediately than wait for the wounds to fester."

He winced. Ouch. That hit a little too close to home with his newfound knowledge as to _why _he believed Obi-Wan did as he did. Especially after his mother's gentle reprimand. He acquiesced, hanging his head for a moment as he drew on his strength. He felt drained, worn to the bone after the last week, and emotionally bruised and battered in the way Barriss had been physically.

And he had one more fight to go before he could rest. One? He mentally shook himself. Two. First he'd face Obi-Wan and Luminara to explain why they'd gone to Tatooine. Then he'd have to face Barriss when she was allowed out of the bacta tank.

Somehow, he knew the second meeting would be harder than the first.

* * *

><p>"Of all the irresponsible - Anakin, I trusted you to have better sense than that."<p>

Anakin stood rigidly at attention, a first in his history with Obi-Wan, and stared just beyond the shoulder of his mentor. Unfortunately, Obi-Wan's disappointment was clear in his tone and the shake of his head and Anakin didn't need to see his face to know it.

Their reactions had been what he'd expected, however, the knowing looks they'd shared when he'd come to the point where Barriss had been injured and abducted with his mother had told him they'd known more than they let on. They let him say his piece and, the moment he'd finished, Obi-Wan had taken all of two minutes to reflect before lacing into him.

It was a scolding Anakin didn't feel he deserved based on the intent of his mission - not completely anyway - but one that he'd earned with his actions while there. He'd left nothing out. Not the way he'd tracked Barriss and his mother or the way he'd opened himself up to her to allow her to feed off the Force through him to sustain her. The alarmed look on Luminara's face for a fraction of a second when he'd spoken of that link had been registered in the back of his mind but he was too exhausted to do more than explain the facts of the mission as they were,

His worry for Barriss shone through everything.

He knew it because he could hear how he described her injuries and the extent. Could hear his tight tone as he spoke of her healing trance and the aftermath of the Tusken Raider battle. Most of all he could hear the raw pain and did nothing to disguise it as he spoke of his worry that his actions had done her more harm than good. While both Masters had been understanding on that score, they were unimpressed by his emotional see-saw.

"What am I going to do with you?"

Anakin kept his lips pressed tightly together at Obi-Wan's rhetorical question. He didn't want to offer any suggestions anyway. Most of them involved incarceration of some kind for an extended period of time. He felt low enough that locking him up at this point to prevent the injuring of another friend was almost the preferred option. At least then he wouldn't have to deal with anyone; especially Barriss. He still didn't know how he was going to handle _that_ conversation when she finally awoke. If Obi-Wan let him. From the way it was looking, and the general sense he received from both Masters, they didn't approve of the relationship that was growing between he and Barriss.

Luminara tapped one finger against her lower lip. "I have a suggestion, if I may."

Obi-Wan turned to his counterpart with one eyebrow arched in query. "By all means; this is well beyond any of the pranks or stunts Anakin has pulled in the past - and there have been many."

She cocked her head to the side, a faint, amused smile playing about the corners of her lips - an indication she knew exactly what Obi-Wan was talking about. It occurred to Anakin for the first time that Obi-Wan and Luminara had a closer friendship than he'd first understood. He hadn't been aware that Obi-Wan had spoken of his... escapades with anyone.

"I would suggest letting Padawan Skywalker sleep and reflect on his actions. It's obvious that if you were to administer any kind of punitive actions right now, the lesson would be lost."

"And let me cool off, old friend?"

"The Negotiator is always cool." Her eyes twinkled, as if sharing some kind of private joke. "I would not, however, recommend wasting a lesson on a Padawan who is more asleep than awake. It is a waste of time and he will gain nothing from the exercise."

Anakin could have kissed her in that moment. He wanted nothing more than a little sack time. Four hours, maybe eight, of solid un-interrupted sleep. Not the dozing he'd done while in the dunes of Tatooine, not the semi-meditation on their flight back to Naboo and not the nightmare riddled nap that had haunted him to start the whole excursion. He'd have given much to be able to sleep, really sleep, but he didn't know if it was possible. As much as his body yearned for it, his mind balked at the idea. Would he dream of Barriss' death next? Of slipping away while stuck in her healing trance, unable to do more than breathe her last.

He shuddered, pushing the mental image away.

"Anakin."

"Yes Master?" The response was automatic - like flying on autopilot.

"Luminara is right. You look as if you are more asleep than awake. While you sleep, I want you to think of all the reasons why this little trip was inadvisable and why it went against all of your training. I also want you to come and see me when you wake up and explain _why_ I should continue your training after such a grievous breach of Jedi protocol."

Luminara turned her twinkling gaze on him and shook one finger at him. "And because you are the Chosen One is _not_ a valid answer."

Anakin's lips twitched; she had a wicked sense of humor for the serious. "Yes Master, but I've had plenty of time to reflect already. I could likely give you that answer now - and it's not because I'm the Chosen One."

Obi-Wan crossed his arms over his chest. "Go on then."

Anakin held up one closed fist and began ticking items off his fingers. "This trip was inadvisable for several reasons. One, emotional attachments are forbidden to Jedi. My mother is my weakness and the one emotional sore spot left. By falling prey to my fears I opened myself up to influences from the darkside."

The Masters shared a look - one that said it was not an answer they'd been expecting.

"Two; I deserted a prior assignment at the barest of urgings to confirm a Force premonition, one that failed to play out as I saw it thanks to an outside influence I introduced into the equation - Barriss. By failing to meet the mandate set to me by the Jedi council I risk my promotion to Jedi Knight on the basis of insubordination."

Obi-Wan arched his eyebrows in clear surprise.

"Three; I went against every teaching I ever learned by not stopping to analyze the situation impartially, or as impartially as possible, before rushing in. For that I _am_ sorry Master. By doing this, I not only put myself in danger, but I placed Barriss in the position to be fighting for her life. It was never my intention to do so, but if I'd stopped to think I might have realized the very imminent danger of the situation." Anakin stopped, looking from one Master to the other. "Should I continue or do you need more?"

Obi-Wan rolled his wrist indication Anakin was to continue.

The younger Jedi smiled faintly, but it was a tired smile without humor. He should have known Obi-Wan wouldn't let him off, no matter how good his reasons. He took a deep breath, feeling the room start to spin around him slightly and swayed on his feet. Exhaustion threatened to topple him in that moment as he forced himself to remember everything he and Barriss and his mother had gone through - and what it represented.

Luminara stepped to his side, gently pushing him backwards and down, her foot catching him in the back of the knees. They buckled under the slight pressure and he fell heavily into the chair that hadn't been there moments before. Luminara cast a look at Obi-Wan that Anakin didn't quite understand. "I think that's enough for today, Obi-Wan. He's obviously learned his lesson."

Obi-Wan stroked his beard thoughtfully. "He's learned something alright. Would you do the same again Anakin?"

"Enough, Obi-Wan." Luminara's voice held an edge of steel. "I understand you want answers; I too want answers, but questioning him in his current condition is unnecessary. Hand me that glass."

Obi-Wan did as she asked, even filling it from the water carafe before passing it to her. Luminara lifted one of Anakin's limp hands and pressed the cool glass into it. His fingers closed about it in reflex, his tired mind not quite understanding its significance until Luminara folded his other hand around it and brought it to his lips. The cold liquid spilled across his lips and tongue and his eyes closed for a brief moment to savor the moisture.

When they opened again both Luminara and Obi-Wan were gone - and he was flat out on his back, dressed in only his leggings, covered by a light blanket.

Anakin blinked in confusion, pushing himself up to his elbows as he looked around. He was still in the small room where he'd given his report and Obi-Wan had questioned him - only he wasn't sitting in the chair that still stood in the center of the room. He'd been moved, without any recollection of the event, to the only couch in the room. His feet dangled off the end, but a second blanket had been tucked around them - a blanket that looked suspiciously like his master's cloak. His clothing was piled on one of the two tables that bracketed the couch, folded neatly, his boots placed on the floor below.

"You're awake."

He turned, craning his neck to the left and smiled sheepishly. "I'm sorry about falling asleep on you Master."

Obi-Wan, a cup of caf in hand, smiled and nodded in understanding as he moved from the door way and settled into the chair across from him. "Luminara was right, Anakin. I should have let you sleep before we spoke, but I'm glad I didn't. I've had a night and a day to reflect on what you've told me."

"A day and a night?" Anakin echoed the statement in surprise. "How long did I sleep?"

"No longer than you needed. How do you feel?"

Anakin slumped back against the couch with a groan. "Like I could sleep for a week."

"Somehow I doubt you'll be given that luxury."

Anakin grinned at the dry tone in Obi-Wan's voice. "I'm alright, Master. Much better actually; though..." he paused, remembering where he'd left Barriss. "I don't know if I can ever talk to Barriss again."

"Why not?"

"I told you - I let her access the Force through my connection to it and nearly killed her."

"And?"

"And what?" Anakin stared at the ceiling. "She's my friend, Master, and I hurt her. Deliberately because I needed her help. I almost cost her hers in the bid to save my mother's. I can't forgive myself for that - how could she forgive me for it?"

"Because it is in her nature, Anakin." Obi-Wan reached over to place the cup on the table beside the couch before shifting the chair closer to it. "Barriss chose to take the path she did. It is my understanding after speaking with her this morning that it was her insistence that propelled the both of you to abandon your duties here and go to Tatooine."

"Maybe, but only because she saw something in a Force dream."

"She did not explain to me what she saw, nor to Luminara."

Anakin swallowed hard. Barriss had left it for him to tell if he chose to. Did it matter now? It hadn't come to pass, thanks to Barriss. None of what either of them had seen had come to pass in the way they'd seen. Oh, his mother's capture had been real enough, but the circumstances hadn't been nearly what he'd seen. In some ways they'd be worse, but - because of Barriss - in some ways they'd also been better. He owed her more than he'd ever tell Obi-Wan. He knew his face was solemn when he finally answered. "She saw me fall to the darkside and slaughter a village of Tusken Raiders after they'd tortured my mother to death."

Obi-Wan's face remained as impassive as ever, but Anakin saw a twitch in his cheek as he took in the news. His mentor finally nodded. "Your adventure makes far more sense with that particular piece of information, Anakin. Barriss, I presume, insisted you go to Tatooine with the intention of disproving what you believed to be Force visions."

"They were, Obi-Wan." Luminara entered at that moment with a not-quite apologetic smile. "Barriss has been trained to know the difference."

Anakin pushed himself into a sitting position. "Then I wasn't just dreaming."

"No, Padawan, you weren't." Obi-Wan nodded to Luminara. "How is Barriss this morning?"

"Hungry." Luminara's grin was full of mirth. "Her appetite has improved since their misadventure."

"Is she angry with me, Master?"

"You'll have to speak with her yourself, Anakin." Obi-Wan's tone brokered no argument on that score. "Luminara and I don't approve of the increasing bond between the two of you, but to avoid this matter could be detrimental to the development of both your skills."

Did that mean they were going to be separated after this? Anakin hoped not. Barriss was his only real friend and the person who seemed to understand him best. "But you and Master Luminara are friends; it can't be a bad thing to have your Padawans be the same."

"Providing it remains as friendship, Anakin." Luminara's look was stern. "She's asked to see you this morning."

Anakin gulped, paling under his tan. "Th-this morning?"

"Friends, Anakin, learn to forgive." Obi-Wan pushed to his feet. "Consider this another ramification of your misadventure. You know why it was inadvisable to run off; dealing with the consequences of your rash actions will perhaps give you a wisdom you lacked beforehand."

Anakin doubted it. The main thing this adventure had taught him was that he was a danger to his friends. He'd be more careful in the future, but he didn't know if that was wisdom or simply caution. Or guilt. "Do I have to see her now?"

"Take ten minutes, Padawan," Obi-Wan headed for the door. "Wash up and refresh yourself. Barriss isn't going anywhere just yet."

Anakin gulped as both Masters left the room, closing the door behind them. He dropped his head into his hand, closing his eyes against the onslaught of guilt that rose up from the depths of his soul. Barriss. He'd hurt her to the point of near-death. Been prepared to sacrifice her for his mother without a second thought simply because he'd needed her help.

Would she be able to forgive him? Could she? He didn't know and a part of him was terrified to find out.


	10. Chapter 10

**Part 10**

Barriss was propped up on the bed in the med-lab when the door opened for Anakin several minutes later. She was dressed in a loose recovery jumpsuit, and her hair was down around her shoulders, giving her a softer, younger appearance. She looked fragile, still worn out in physical ways from the ordeal that would take time to heal. She didn't appear aware of his scrutiny and lifted one hand to her mouth, chewing absently on one finger tip as she stared at something in her lap.

Anakin shifted awkwardly, nervously, as he watched her. A smile tilted her lips and she shook her head and bent to write something on the item in her lap. Her smile, wistful and tolerant, made him wonder if he shouldn't come back later lest he interrupt whatever he was doing. He stood, undecided for a long minute, torn between wanting - _needing_ - to know she was alright, and the fear that she'd reject him, criticize him, for his decisions. Ones that had-

"Anakin!"

He blinked, his head coming up so quickly the room was momentarily out of focus. Something moved and he ducked, thinking she'd thrown whatever it was on her lap at him.

Barriss' laughter reverberated through the med-lab and the sound released the band of tension that had taken a hold of his heart. "If I'd wanted to hit you, Anakin Skywalker, I wouldn't be throwing a datapad at you."

He smiled hesitantly but sheepishly. "I wouldn't blame you if you threw every piece of equipment in here at me."

"Master Luminara says I'm to rest and regain my strength." Her tone was slightly haughty but there was a glimmer of laughter in her dancing eyes as she dropped the hand she been waving back to her lap. "I wouldn't waste that hard earned supply on _you_."

His smile faded despite the amusement in her gaze and the fear was quick to return. He folded his hands together, twisting his fingers around one another in an attempt to find the right words. "So... how are you feeling?"

Barriss shrugged, leaning back against the raised head of the bed and smoothing the covers down over her raised knees. "Better. You?"

"I wasn't injured."

"That's not what I meant."

He shrugged. "Master Obi-Wan was very upset."

"So I gathered when _my_ Master tore strips out of me this morning. How're you holding up?"

Anakin shrugged awkwardly. "I manage."

The silent that fell between them was awkward and charged. Anakin cast a glance at Barriss from the corner of his eye, struggling to get over the feeling and knowing he deserved every moment. He took a deep breath as he realized she wasn't going to speak. Despite the circumstance - or maybe because of it - the next move was his. Gathering the shreds of his courage and knowing he had no business asking for her forgiveness, he said what he came to say.

"I'm sorry, Barriss."

"Sorry?" She cocked her head at him, a small smile on her lips. "Anakin, you've already apologized."

He blinked in surprise. "I have?"

She nodded, beckoning him closer and frowning when he didn't so much as twitch. "Yes; you have. I distinctly remember an apology - even if it was tempered with arrogance."

"I don't understand."

"Something about you being stronger than Master Yoda and not knowing what exposure to your Force powers would do." Her look was candid. "Ring any bells, Skywalker?"

"But... you were unconscious!"

"Unconscious or not, I certainly heard what you had to say. You really should get over yourself, Anakin."

His heart plummeted with her harsh reprimand. She really _was_ angry with him after all. He hung his head. "I was terrified I was going to lose you too, Barriss."

"So I gathered." She paused for a moment. "I've read your report to our Masters."

He flinched. "You don't agree with what I wrote, do you?"

"Most of it is accurate, though our fight with the Tusken Raiders might have been better written - I _did_ after all stop you from going after them in cold blood."

He rubbed his hands over his face. This talk wasn't going in any direction he'd anticipated. She seemed more amused than hurt, more tolerant than angry and yet there was an underlying current he couldn't identify. Almost as if she were pulled back from him deliberately to distance herself - and that hurt far more than any words or gestures she might have said.

"Anakin."

He lifted his head slowly, letting his hands flop uselessly at his sides, scared of what he'd see in her gaze and scared of what he wouldn't see. She had her hand outstretched, her palm open and fingers extended. Her lips were tilted in an understanding half-smile that held no accusation and no censure.

"Come here, Anakin."

His feet moved of their own accord, one hand coming up, his fingers trembling as they reached for hers. The touch on her finger tips sliding across his palm - their warmth and vibrancy - and the way they transmitted her feelings immediately brought a half-sob to his lips. She bent her fingers, catching his and pulling with a strength he hadn't thought she possessed. Her other hand came around, gripping his wrist as he was brought closer and gave a vicious tug.

Off balance, he stumbled into the side of her recovery bed and froze; one hand on the mattress, the other caught in hers, as she lifted the hand she'd had around his wrist and flung her arm around his neck. The strength in her embrace did much to relieve his fears as she released his hand and instead used both arms to hug him tightly. His arms went about her waist as he buried his face in her shoulder.

Barriss stroked his hair; her fingers firm even as her force presence reached out to envelop him. "I forgive you."

Her words were like a release and he clutched her tightly. She didn't cry out, didn't so much as twitch except to return the pressure of the embrace as he practically dragged her off the bed and into his arms. She went up on her knees before dropping her legs over the side of the bed. It aligned their bodies, hip to hip but slightly separated at the shoulder, as she gathered him close. Anakin felt like crawling into her skin so deep and primal was the urge to possess her, to _know_ she was safe, that he reacted without thinking.

The Force flared between them as Anakin twisted his head and caught her lips with his, every ounce of his desperation and desolation communicated in the first brief moment.

Startled Barriss reacted before she thought, not just to his kiss, but to the underlying insecurities. She soothed and comforted as only a Jedi Healer could. Reaching into his mind, relishing the feeling of _power_ as he opened to her without restraint, she began a process she'd only recently completed on herself.

She searched for and located those pathways in Anakin's brain that had been altered during their stay on Tatooine. She sought and found several related to anger and training, reaching back to the Tusken raiders. She realigned these, shifting the anger focus and diminishing the responses. She didn't have long before Anakin reacted instinctively; trying to force her out and it took only moments before his will sprang to life.

Yet she clung to him mentally as she did physically, only dimly aware of that physical connection and the way she responded to his demands. She felt each sweep of his fingers as they ran possessively down her back. Felt the strength in his muscles as she arched against him thoughtlessly. But it was all sensations she was only vaguely aware of as her Force presence touched his and counter pressured. His words, his arrogance in his powers pushed her. She pushed back and - as if realizing her intentions were only for his best interest - he suddenly stopped pushing.

In her element, Barriss wrapped her Force presence around his, _willing_ him to understand, to appreciate why she was doing this. To understand _how_ she was doing this and accept her council. He fought it as she'd known he would, unwilling to let go of the unconscious arrogance of being the best in everything - being the _Chosen One_, but she didn't relent. She _pushed_ and _squeezed_ mentally, using that Force presence as a colliery to their physical bodies even as she was dimly aware of being lifted and pressed back into the mattress of the recovery bed.

Anakin fought her, bringing his considerable access to the Force to bear - but after being immersed in it for days, Barriss now knew how to counter it and, more importantly, control its affect on her. She challenged it to where she wanted it to go, using it against him, turning his powers back on his perceptions and forcing him to see her way.

She felt his body pause, felt her own struggling to find enough air even as he struggled against her conceptions. Barriss showed no mercy and didn't relent until she felt him pull back, suddenly loathe to continue, and only then did she draw back. Her consciousness returned completely to her physical being where she lay panting on the mattress of the recovery bed, Anakin braced on his forearms above her, his forehead touching hers and his eyes closed.

"Anakin?"

His name was breathy, almost a whisper as it passed her lips. His eyes opened, that clear cerulean free of all shame and doubt as she'd hoped they'd be.

Anakin lifted one hand, gently brushing the backs of his fingers over her cheek. "I never knew."

She smiled slightly. His voice caught too as he struggled for breath. Their lips meeting had been a powerful intoxication - the joining of their Force presences had been the next level of that merging. One that humbled and awed - and frightened - them. She could see the hesitation in his gaze as he searched her face. She reached up to capture his hand. "How could you?"

"I don't know. I guess I just feel like I should have known."

"Why, because you're the Chosen One?"

He nodded before flushing guiltily, ducking his head away as he straightened, pushing to his knees as he straddled hers. "I guess that title affects me more than I thought."

"Not you," her smile was teasing. "Just your ego. All I wanted was to show you was that the only reason I reacted so badly to being exposed to your level of communion with the Force is because I didn't know how to deal with it. Now I know. You shouldn't be afraid of hurting me again."

His face was expressionless as he regarded her intently. "How can you be sure?"

She arched an eyebrow as if to ask if he was serious and then rolled her eyes. "I'm sure, alright? I'm _very_ sure. Just now you tried to force me away and I pushed _you_ back, not the other way around. It's not that your stronger Anakin, it's that you're stronger overall. You have a better connection to the Force than most."

"How do you know that?"

Her gaze darkened, shadowed by revelations she wasn't yet ready to share. "I know. My time communing with the Force showed me many things. One of them is why you connect so clearly to the Force while the other Jedi cannot."

He waited, expectantly, cocking his head at her in a silent urging to continue.

Barriss pushed to her elbows. "You might want to sit for this conversation."

"I am."

Despite his impish response she looked pointedly at where he was semi-sitting on her legs and then to the door. "If you don't mind explaining how you got there when Master Kenobi comes in-"

Anakin was off the bed in a heartbeat, the color high in his cheeks as he dropped down and into the seat beside her bed. His look told her not to comment, that he wouldn't take any kind of teasing about his master at the moment - not in the fragile state of mind he'd been in since leaving Tatooine.

Barriss not only understood his silent message, she heeded it. Picking up where she left off as if they hadn't paused to speak of anything else, she continued. "You have a much purer connection to the Force, Anakin. One that's based on emotion instead of concentrated effort. Jedi children are trained from a young age to avoid emotions, to resist them and suppress them. You weren't. While I have to work to call on the Force because of the discipline I learned as a child, because of your _lack_ of discipline, it comes to your call more easily. You're an open conduit, almost as pure as can be because you _weren't_ brought up as a Jedi."

"That doesn't make any sense though."

"It makes perfect sense." Barriss' counter was instant. "The Sith, as we're told, gain their powers through their volatile emotions. The Force comes easily to their beck and call and requires very little concentration for the simple fact that it's responding to whims."

"But I'm not a Sith."

"And you're not using the Force for selfish reasons either."

"That doesn't explain my pod racing."

"Sure it does." Barriss levered herself into a move comfortable position. "Think about it. Pod racing it all raw instinct. You let the Force control your actions and dictate how you respond - pure emotional and sensory input. You're not trying to control the Force, you're letting it control you."

Anakin shifted uncomfortably. "Sometimes, maybe."

"A lot of the time. You let it take over your actions almost as naturally as you breathe, Anakin. I noticed it while we were fighting the Tuskens."

"I always fight like that. I always have."

"Maybe that intensity is why you're so lethal. Have you ever tried to tame the Force to your will when fighting?"

"I found it too distracting." His admission was followed by a half-smile. "I made too many mistakes and didn't have the discipline to hold it for long. I'd get frustrated and then have to stop because I was worried about that frustration directing those forces."

"See? That's what I mean. You've got will to prevent your emotions from influencing the Force when you open yourself up to it." Barriss' eyes glittered knowingly. "Your mother was right."

"About what?"

"You."

"Now you're just being cryptic."

She winked at him before schooling her face into a more passively interested expression. "Hello Master Kenobi."

"Barriss." Obi-Wan was leaning against the door jamb as Anakin turned in surprise. "Anakin. I trust your apology was well received?"

Anakin nodded mutely, the eye contact between he and Obi-Wan being broken as he couldn't hold the gaze. He wasn't about to tell his Master just _how_ well his apology had been received - and the lesson Barriss had chosen to give him in return.

"Excellent. I trust you and Padawan Offee will be able to join us for the evening meal."

Anakin looked back to Barriss and she nodded. "Providing I'm cleared to leave the medical bay, Master Kenobi, I will join you."

"Anakin?"

He flinched. For all the mild tone Obi-Wan used, the expectation and subtle reproof was obvious. "I'll be there, Master."

"Don't be late."

Obi-Wan disappeared but the pall cast by his presence lingered. Their earlier discussion no longer seemed appropriate and Anakin fidgeted in his chair. He was on edge and afraid to make another blunder like the one that had landed him on Barriss' recovery bed earlier. While he knew Jedi weren't celibate - his Master was proof of that - the relationship aspect Jedi were supposed to avoid was confusing him. He could have a close relationship with his Master, like father and son, but no _romantic_ attachments which could be just as deep. He didn't understand why but even as a part of him rebelled, he was terrified too.

Barriss finally let out an exasperated sigh. "They can't expel us for being friends, Anakin."

"Is that all we are, Barriss?"

She colored slightly but met his gaze head on. "That's all we _can_ be."

"According to the code, you mean."

Her eyes widened at the bitterness in his voice. He continued even as she opened her mouth to speak.

"It's not fair. None of it is. And it makes no sense." He hurtled to his feet and began to pace, gesticulating wildly. "Not when take in the light you just revealed. How can a Jedi expect to achieve their full potential if a part of that potential - a part of that _emotion_ is never tapped?"

"Calm yourself, Ani." He spun on her, disbelieving and she grinned. "I like the nick name."

"Only you would."

"And your mother."

"My mother named me. It's her prerogative."

"And mine," her eyes sparkled dangerously, as if he'd better not object. "I not only helped you save her, but you've taken... _liberties_ with me."

He snorted, amusement turning his eyes the color of the mid-day sky. "As if you objected."

She settled herself primly and sniffed. "If I did, you'd be the first to know."

"And in the med bay right next to you, I'd wager." He grinned. "How do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Diffuse me like a time bomb."

"It's all part and parcel of being a Jedi Healer, my friend. There _are_ aspects of the Force you don't have an affinity for you know."

"Ha!" He threw himself back into the chair, relaxing into a comfortable lounge despite the scornful reply. "If that were the case, your Master would do the same."

"Ah, but Master Luminara hasn't been inside your mind. I have."

"If your Master ever saw the inside of my head I'd likely be committed."

"Not for long."

"What, would you rescue me?"

Her expression turned suddenly and deadly serious despite the tease in his voice. "I'll _always_ be there to rescue you, Anakin. No matter the distance, I will _always_ come for you."

There wasn't anything he could say to that as their gazes locked. With a promise like that he couldn't think of a more appropriate response than to lean forward as he rose to his feet and brush a soft, serious kiss across her lips. It was tentative but sombre, a testament to her vow and a silent one of his own.

He would never put her in danger like that again.

Never.


	11. Chapter 11

**Part 11**

Barriss was still in the recovery stage of her injuries and confined to the medical bay when the call for Obi-Wan came through to the quarters he shared with Anakin that evening. Anakin was startled to see Master Mace Windu's face and immediately wondered if his Master had been informing on him to the council.

Mace's first words did little to easy it. "Anakin - where is Obi-Wan?"

"Speaking with Master Luminara, Master Windu."

"I must speak with him immediately. A situation has come up and his expertise is required."

Anakin scrambled away, leaving the link engaged and darted for the next room. He could have called his master using the Force, but part of Obi-Wan's sanctions had been minimal Force use for the next couple of weeks. Anakin's punishments also included meditating on the events and those that had led up to them, and taking an active role in Barriss' recovery.

He'd been reluctant at first, but after speaking with Barriss the last was more like play and punishment. And while Barriss had put a stop to any more physical displays of affection - she wasn't comfortable with their Masters being able to walk in any minute - Anakin was glad for the gift of her presence. She was a calming personality and their discussions, after that first awkward one, were once again on friendly terms. If there was another kind of tension between them, one neither could explain nor ignore, they did their best to pretend it didn't exist.

"-don't think we should keep them together." Obi-Wan's persuasive tones didn't penetrate as Anakin skidded to a halt in the doorway.

Luminara looked up from her discussion with Obi-Wan first and arched her eyebrows in mild surprise. Obi-Wan caught her look a turned, frowning. "I thought I told you to get some rest."

"You did Master." Anakin acknowledged. In fact, he'd been about to turn off the lights when the call had come through. "Master Windu's asked to speak with you - urgently."

"Transfer him through to here, Anakin. Then get some sleep."

"Yes Master." Anakin bowed hastily before darting back to the sleeping quarters. He bowed to the patiently waiting Master Windu and offered his apologies. "I'm sorry, Master Windu, but Master Obi-Wan is engaged elsewhere. He asked me to put you through to him there."

"Very well, Anakin."

Anakin hit the buttons necessary and transferred the call to the other holo-emitter. With a couple flicks of his fingers, he ghosted the call, managing to leave it up without detection as he settled back against the cushions of the pallet he'd been given.

Mace wasted no time. "Master Kenobi. Luminara."

Anakin could see in his mind's eye the two Masters bowing to the Council member as Mace continued.

"We have immediate need of your expertise, Master Kenobi. We have been able to trace the source of the Senator's assassin and this man was traced from Coruscant to a world called Kamino. The man - a bounty hunter by the name of Jago Fett - killed the Jedi sent in pursuit of him."

Anakin sucked in a sharp breath, wondering _which_ Jedi had faced that unfortunate fate.

"The Jedi - Knight Takkan - was able to plant a homing beacon on the bounty hunter's ship. Unfortunately it's a short range beacon and we lost it outside the Geonosis system. You must discreetly enter the system and search for the source. We must have that bounty hunter for questioning before he is turned over to the senate for punishment."

There was a pause as Obi-Wan or Luminara responded something Anakin couldn't hear.

"I'm afraid your Padawan is too volatile to include in this venture, Obi-Wan. Anakin is to remain with Luminara on Naboo as you search for this bounty hunter."

Anakin sucked in a sharp breath, aware that Mace didn't' know he was watching and so couldn't possibly know to curb his tongue - or moderate his criticism. That did nothing to salve Anakin's pride, however, for he'd always suspected the Masters didn't trust him and he now had poof, however indirectly.

_"You shouldn't be eavesdropping."_

Anakin whirled guiltily as Barriss' voice filled the room, turning a full circle to search for her before the reality of the situation penetrated.

She wasn't there.

"Barriss?"

The laughter that followed was soft, and slightly accusatory. _"You're Master won't like you listening in on his private conversations, Anakin."_

"Where are you?"

_"Look at the comm., oh Chosen One."_

He did and felt the heat crawl up his neck, despite her being unable to see him. "How did you..."

"_A little trick I picked up from you."_ She sounded smug, a tone he hadn't heard before. _"When we melded earlier."_

He wasn't quite sure what to make of that. "Any other tricks of mine you just happened to pick up?"

_"I'll let you know,"_ her saucy reply was mischievous and Anakin had a feeling she'd picked up other tricks she was better off not knowing. Not that he was going to call her on them - two heads for some of them were certainly better than one. _"When are you coming to visit me next?"_

"Tomorrow morning," he turned away from the comm. and settled down on his pallet, stretching out with his hands folded behind his head. "Obi-Wan and Luminara have ordered me to bed for the night."

_"And since when do _you_ follow orders?"_

Anakin blinked and sat up, looking at the comm. suspiciously. Barriss sounded as if she was challenging him to go against their masters - something he was inclined to do, but she wasn't. He chose his words carefully. "Since I'm dead tired and it agrees with my own plans?"

She made a rude sound. _"Oh fine then."_

A frown creased his brow. Barriss didn't sound fine. In fact, she sounded strange, as if she wasn't herself. "Barriss? Are you alright?"

_"I feel strange, Anakin."_

He settled back on the pallet uneasily, his body tense. "Strange how?"

There was silence for a minute before Barriss spoke again, her tone subdued. _"I feel like... something is eating its way through my insides."_

Anakin was on his feet in a heartbeat, and down the corridor moments later. He zipped by the room where Luminara and Obi-Wan were still speaking with Master Windu. The quest Obi-Wan was about to be sent on had been banished from his thoughts as he skidded around a corner, careening into the other wall and then darted straight into the med bay.

Barriss looked up in surprise as he slid to a stop beside her bed, his hands reaching immediately for her. With a soft cry she was gathered against him. Anakin's fingers were swift and sure as they brushed against her brow before sliding down her spine. The Force encapsulated them and Anakin's instinctive reaction to search for what ailed her an after effect of Barriss' effect on him. Not that he would realize it until much later.

She collapsed against him, submitting to the ministrations with her eyes closed. Only when Anakin had ascertained for himself that she wasn't in any real physical danger did she speak. "Something bad is going to happen, Ani. Something horrible."

His mouth went dry. "You can't know that."

Her gaze lifted to his. "I can."

Anakin was already shaking his head as he shifted her in his arms, not even realizing he'd settled on the bunk with her in his lap as he clutched her for support as much as she clung to him. "The future isn't set, Barriss. I've made the mistake of trying to alter it once and who knows what consequences we'll all face for that."

"Saving your mother wasn't a bad thing, Anakin."

"It wasn't the smart thing to do either."

"Yes it was." Her arms tightened around his neck. "I _know_ it."

"You're awful mysterious today. Did you have a Force vision?"

Hair tickled the underside of his chin as she shook her head. "Nothing so drastic or distinct. It's just a feeling. Something that swept over me when Master Windu called."

"So it has to do with Master Windu?"

Barriss was shaking her head again before he finished. "No. It's something to do with Obi-Wan."

"Obi-Wan?" Anakin drew back slightly. "But he's going on a recon mission. Do you think the feeling would be the same if the council had directed Master Luminara to investigate instead of Obi-Wan?"

"I… don't know. Possibly. This is more just a general feeling. Like something is going to go wrong - or rather, like something is happening beyond our ability to control it."

"Aren't you the one who said I control the Force better because of my lack of control?"

"Lack of discipline," her correction was amused. "There's a difference - and don't try and change the subject."

"I wasn't."

"You were - I know you, remember?" She squeezed him and eased back so she could look into his face. "There's something wrong, seriously wrong, with the galaxy, Anakin and there's not going to be much we can do to fix it."

"Something is better than nothing."

She made a face. "You might be able to do something, but I'm stuck in this bed until I'm given a clean bill of health."

"We almost lost you, Barriss. Isn't that reason enough to be on bed rest?"

"I feel fine."

"But weak." Anakin reached up, lifting his arms from around her so he could cup her face between his hands. His thumbs brushed over her cheeks, the fullness of her bottom lip and traced the tattoos across the bridge of her nose. "I couldn't bear to lose you, Barriss."

"You're stronger than you give yourself credit for." Her hands came up to partially cover his even as her eyes half closed. She partially slid off his lap, back onto the bed, but their positions didn't change any further. Their gazes remained locked, their fingers twining unconsciously even as she leaned into his touch. "We can't."

A spark flared in his eyes at her soft denial. "You mean we shouldn't."

"Can't." She said the word a second time but it lacked conviction. "We'd be expelled, outcasts-"

"Does it really matter?" Anakin's blue eyes glowed with the intensity of an emotion neither had yet dared to name. "We'd have each other. We're stronger together, Barriss; stronger and more powerful - a balance of temperance and fire."

"Are we really, Anakin?"

"You know we are."

"Then why does it feel wrong?"

His body went rigid in her grasp from the tips of his fingers to the thighs under her knees; she could feel every inch of his skin tense where it connected with hers. "It doesn't feel wrong."

Barriss slowly drew his hands away from her face. "Something is coming. Something neither you nor I understand or have the power to stop. Something is going to happen and people are going to die, you and I might die. How can you _suggest_ something so selfish with the very galaxy hanging in the balance? This is bigger than you or me Anakin. This is bigger than the Jedi. Whatever is coming is going to cover the galaxy in darkness."

"If there's going to be darkness, shouldn't we find what light we can?"

"What good is a glow rod in space? Or a primitive candle in a great hall?"

Anakin was silent for a long minute. "Hope, Barriss. Light is hope."

"And what hope will there be if you, the very source of that light, is extinguished?"

"I'm no one's hope." He drew away, pushing her back from him as he slid backwards across the mattress. "People keep labeling me the Chosen One and I've played along, but I'm not, Barriss. I'm not this supposed savior who's going to bring balance to the Force. How could I be when the only thing I want more than anything - more than life or more than being a Jedi - is forbidden to me?"

"You're wrong, Anakin." She didn't reach for him, so tuned to his feelings at that moment that she knew he wouldn't stand to be touched more than she already was touching him. If she reached for him, she instinctively knew he'd pull back. "You _are_ the Chosen One. And it's not because you want to be, but rather because you have no desire to be. You try so hard to live up to everyone's expectations when you only need to live up to your own."

"Are you feeling alright?"

"No - but that has nothing to do with this discussion."

"I'm only asking because you usually make a lot more sense."

"I'm talking nonsense now, am I?"

Anakin nodded. "And not just a little of it either."

Barriss arched her eyebrows, not quite catching his meaning.

"About how I'm the Chosen one because I don't want to be. I don't understand what you're trying to say. Personally I think I'm better off without the responsibility."

Her smile was knowing. "Are you really? Do you honestly think you'd have attempted some of the stunts you pulled without knowing you were the Chosen One?"

"Of course."

Barriss chuckled softly. "Anakin, Anakin. On some level you've known, always known, you're different and destined for great things. How can you know that and not believe you're the Chosen One?"

"I dunno." He shrugged uncomfortably. "I guess because it's always been that way. I knew I wasn't destined for a slave's life. I was never meant to stay there even if it was where I was born."

"Hence your pod racing."

He nodded. "Among other things. It's why I'm so good at fixing things - I was destined to fix something."

She reached for him them, catching his hand in hers and squeezing. "And you still doubt you're the Chosen One?"

"The Chosen One is to bring balance to the Force, not to fix it."

"Anakin…" Barriss shook her head. "Bringing balance is just another way of fixing it. Don't you see? The Force is out of Balance, the Sith grow stronger as the Jedi get weaker and no one knows why. Not you, not me; not my master or yours and definitely not the council. If they knew, they'd have balanced it by now - they'd have _fixed_ the problem."

"But I don't _want_ to fix the Force, Barriss." The admission was almost guilty. "I don't _want_ to destroy the Sith."

"If it's your destiny, why not?"

"What if it isn't _my_ destiny? What if everyone has me mistaken for someone else? I'm rash, I'm impulsive, emotionally charged and focused. Based on the Jedi teachings, I'm one step away from _becoming_ a Sith, not destroying them. Doesn't that scare you, just a little?"

"Should it? Master Yoda always says that fear is the path to the darkside."

"Master Yoda isn't always right." Anakin tossed her hand away and, in a move that was too quick for her to follow, slid off the back of the bunk and regained his feet, pacing around the bed as he did and gesticulating wildly. "Just because we fear something doesn't make the emotion wrong. Isn't it better to fear that which can potentially destroy you? Not everyone can react like Master Obi-Wan and calmly face death. I don't know about you, but my heart races and pounds in my head and I get focused, so much so that things seem to slow down. Is that wrong? Because if it is, than my fear, an emotion I'm not supposed to feel, is the reason I'm alive today."

"Among other reasons." Barriss shifted, settling herself back into her bunk. "Fear is something every Jedi feels to some degree or another. It's the way we _use_ that fear that makes it dangerous. You control your fear, let it sharpen your mind and allow you to act without the encumbrance. You don't give into that fear, allow it to control your actions and dictate your thoughts and feelings."

"I did on Tatooine."

"Did you?" Her smile was almost secretive. "Did you really?"

"I let my fear for my mother control and dictate how I would act and respond."

"Really? I seem to recall that I was the one who insisted we go - you fought to stay here on Naboo where our responsibilities lay."

"I should have fought harder."

"Why."

"Because… because it's what a real Jedi would have done. Obi-Wan would never have given in to the dreams I was having."

"Obi-Wan doesn't know that, Anakin. He was also raised in the temple and wouldn't be susceptible to visions like that _because_ of his upbringing. With your constant openness to the Force, it's no wonder you suffer from Force visions. Jedi are trained from a young age to shield their thoughts and feelings, to _unconsciously control_ the Force. Your Master, my Master, even I am not prey to visions as powerful as yours. Master Yoda, I understand, must meditate for hours or days to get even a glimpse of what you see and feel."

"That doesn't mean I should act on them!"

Barriss' gaze suddenly flicked over his shoulder to the door, her eyes widening in alarm. It was all the warning Anakin got before the mild tone of the placid Master Luminara slid through the room.

"I thought your Master told you to get some rest, Anakin."

Anakin stiffened at the reprimand implied in the words and turned, his posture still rigid and offered a stiff bow. "Forgive me, Master, but Barriss called to say she wasn't feeling well."

"Is that any surprise, Padawan Skywalker, with you yelling at her?"

"I-" he stopped, swallowing the lump in his throat along with his frustration before inhaling deeply. Once more in control, his feature relaxed. "My apologies Master Luminara. Padawan Barriss. I'll find my pallet now."

Barriss opened her mouth to stop him but Anakin was gone before the words passed her lips. She could _feel_ his turmoil, his frustration at her bumbling attempt to help him understand. She felt it too.

"Barriss."

She drew her gaze guiltily to her Master and managed a weak smile. "I apologize, Master. I knew Anakin was supposed to be resting, but I-"

"_You_ were supposed to be resting, Padawan. Anakin is fully healed; you are not."

"Yes Master."

Luminara examined her Padawan thoughtfully through slightly lowered lashes, assessing silently in a fashion that had always made Barriss squirm. This time was no different - especially since Barriss had much she wanted to keep from her Master. Luminara didn't move, simply stood with her arms folded in the sleeves of her Jedi robe and watched. Finally Barriss shifted uncomfortably, her legs sliding against one another under the blanket, and her Master finally changed her pose.

Only she didn't leave as Barriss had hoped - she had much to think about that would be confusing without her Master's presence - but instead settled into the chair at the side of the bed.

"Was there something you needed, Master?" Barriss almost winced at the phrase. How more asinine could she get?

"I'm concerned for you, Padawan."

It was official then. Barriss had been dreading this discussion since she'd first awoken, dreading it more than she'd been able to voice. "I'm healing well, Master."

"The speed of your recovery is not in question. By tomorrow morning you should be up and walking once more. By the afternoon you should be recovered of all but the fatigue which naturally follows such a long and strenuous immersion in a Force trance."

"Then what is in question, Master?" Barriss wondered if she should have bothered asking the question with how uncanny she knew her Master to be. Still, it felt better to have to ask, to make them both face it. To make her Master acknowledge what was happening between herself and Anakin - and what lay between their Masters.

"Your judgment, Padawan. Encouraging Skywalker is not wise."

Barriss arched her eyebrows, a sense of calm suddenly permeating her like nothing she'd ever known. She knew more about the Force and its ways after such a long immersion than most Padawans knew about in years. She knew how to touch the strength Anakin wielded and what she needed to do to control it. And most of all she knew her Master was wrong. Encouraging Anakin was exactly what she had to do. She didn't know why, only that it was the _right_ thing to do. To Challenge him, to help him see what lay before him - whatever that was.

"Anakin and I are pursuing a friendship both you and Master Kenobi encouraged, Master. Have we done something wrong?"

"Barriss," Luminara shook her head, though Barriss swore she saw a spark of admiration in her Master's eyes. "Obi-Wan spoke with me regarding the rather disturbing situation he found the two of you in this morning."

"Disturbing, Master?"

"Your discussion, Barriss, regarding the living Force, and the position Skywalker was found in with you."

"What position?"

"Padawan!" Luminara's tone turned sharp. "I'm trying to help you, Barriss. You know what was wrong otherwise you would not be avoiding the issue. Was there something more of which we should speak?"

Barriss thought back to that morning. She thought of Anakin's initial entrance, his subsequent apology, the kiss that had turned into something far more than she'd ever expected or thought to control. She thought of the way his hands had-

Her cheeks heated but she held Luminara's gaze steady, knowing her Master would see more than was prudent but unwilling to broach the topic just yet. "No Master. There's nothing."

"You are positive?"

Barriss suddenly wished she dared confide in her Master, but she couldn't. Not if she didn't want to get both herself and Anakin expelled. She nodded. "Positive Master. Anakin and I have already spoken about this morning - it will not happen again."

Luminara's shrewd gaze was assessing her once more, that penetrating look back on her face and Barriss couldn't hold it this time. She looked away, feeling like the teenager she was who'd been caught with her first crush. Which, she supposed, was only half true. She ducked her head to her chest only to bring it up sharply when Luminara sighed deeply.

"I had hoped you would confide in me, Barriss. That you _trusted_ me enough after all we have endured to speak of the matter."

Barriss winced. Ouch. "I do trust you Master, I just… this is not something of which I can speak with you."

"Has Anakin done something untoward to you?"

"Ah…" _Untoward? Would a hot kiss that left her boneless and breathless be considered untoward?_ "No Master, he has not. For all he is the reason I am in the med lab, I draw… er… comfort from his presence."

"As long as that is all you draw, Padawan. Get some sleep, there will be much to discuss in the morning."

Barriss almost choked. "Yes Master."

Luminara cast her one last, long look before departing, the med bay door sliding shut behind her. And as Barriss lay in the dimmed room, she knew somewhere down the hall and in the Jedi's guests quarters, Anakin would sleep no more than she would that night. Despite the disturbing thoughts that accompanied the revelation, she drew a small measure of comfort from it.

She was not alone.


	12. Chapter 12

**Part 12**

Anakin heard from Luminara the following morning that Obi-Wan had departed on council business and would be rejoining them as soon as he was able. For the interim, he'd been posted with Luminara. He was given the impression that the council had been informed of his actions and subsequent mature acceptance of the responsibility for them. As such, his punishment and penance were left to Obi-Wan and Luminara's discretion. He'd been dreading it until Luminara told him with a faint smile that she didn't feel further punishments were necessary - he was already sentenced to the thing he despised most.

He supposed that was fair. He'd made them worry, put Barriss in danger, almost cost her the life she wanted and was even now threatening it - even if their masters didn't _know_ it yet and only suspected - meditation and reflection was fitting. Still, all that meditation and reflection only gave him time to think.

He thought about their time on Tatooine together, about his mother and her acceptance of Barriss and her inquiry as to their relationship. He thought about the cold fear that had gripped him when he'd realized that Barriss and his mother were both gone, trapped in the nightmare that had brought him to Tatooine in the first place. He remembered the search, his determination and finally his relief at finding them… only to have it turn to horror as he'd watched them being beaten - naked - and being unable to turn away, to _act_, to help in any way shape or form. And to his shame he remembered being unable to tear his gaze away from Barriss' nude form, the shaming technique backfiring from a distance and telling him she had _nothing_ to be ashamed for. He remembered being sick afterwards and forcing himself to follow, to wait for his opportunity.

And then there was the confusion.

His actions, Barriss' pull on him through the Force, her subsequent injury and yielding to his Force power - only to cut it off abruptly. He meditated on this mostly. The jumble of emotions he hadn't yet sorted through, though he suspected what he felt for Barriss would never be easy or stream lined. It would never be... uncomplicated. They were Jedi, taught to have no emotions, no entanglements - and that was all he found himself wanting from her.

Despite the fact he'd nearly killed her.

Despite the fact neither of their Masters would have approved.

Despite the fact Barriss herself seemed torn by which she should choose.

Her dream or him.

It didn't help he spent a good deal of his time reliving that passionate kiss in the medical bay when she'd reached into his mind and forced him to accept what was inevitable - that he had to think before he acted. Even when he didn't want to - even when it meant giving her up for the greater good.

Needless to say his meditation and reflections were anything but restful and he spent a good deal of his time struggling to come to terms with his growing attachment to Barriss.

To make matters worse for his frame of mind, Luminara made a point of never leaving him and Barriss alone. The Jedi Master seemed to be perpetually at her Padawan's side and whatever discussion he and Barriss might have had, whatever understanding they might have come to, was indefinitely postponed.

Barriss, for her part, greeted him warmly - as was right for friends - and insisted he spend as much time as he could over the next two days with them. Anakin, to be contrary, found he wanted nothing to do with either woman when they were together. He couldn't speak to Barriss of what he wished with Luminara present, and he wasn't about to speak with Luminara without Obi-Wan's buffering presence. Not when the discussion was sure to revolve around Barriss.

He did wonder absently at his perverse logic. Obi-Wan was likely to fry him for his interest in Barriss - if he ever let it show - and Luminara had given no indication she would do such a thing. In fact, the placid Master might have been more relaxed discussing Barriss without Obi-Wan, but Anakin acknowledged a subconscious need to have Obi-Wan around when he finally broached the subject. He might not have his Master in his corner, but Obi-Wan's subtle strength and peaceful presence would bolster his courage.

Barriss watched as Anakin withdrew and knew a part of it was concern for his Master. The other part, the part she shared, was the obvious tension between them. A tension that was growing daily, hourly even, whenever they were together. It was a tension both struggled to ignore as they attempted to act naturally in front of her Master.

It helped that Barriss was discharged from the med lab two days later, though the tension between them had reached a simmering point near boil. Luminara's presence did little - if anything - to diminish the awareness shimmering between the two Padawans and instead she kept them busy on errands that would give them little contact.

But it was the call to arms on the day after Barriss' release from medical that brought them back together and paired them as complementary forces...

* * *

><p>Luminara's face was grim as she motioned for the Padawans to join her in the room she shared with Barriss. Obi-Wan's frozen visage hovered over the holo transmitter, a string of words beneath it indicating an embedded transmission.<p>

"Obi-Wan has made contact; I trust you both wish to see this?"

Neither Padawan denied it; Anakin because Obi-Wan was his Master and Barriss because she'd confided the sense of unease and general dread regarding Obi-Wan's circumstances to her Master. She had a sudden flash of understanding that the time she'd feared had come to pass. Anakin, as if reading her thoughts, stepped closer as Luminara turned back to the transmission.

Luminara didn't see their hands brush or the way they seemed to naturally fold together without thought. If she had, she might have ordered them separated. Instead, the Jedi Master's focus was on Obi-Wan's image as the transmission began to play.

"Luminara; my transmitter's been knocked out. Re-transmit this message to Coruscant." It began to repeat, indicating the looping would until the transmission's guidelines were met.

With a motion towards the console across the way, Luminara redirected the message as requested and then folded her hands in her sleeves.

Obi-Wan's expression changed as he regarded the transmitter, glancing about warily. "I have tracked the bounty hunter, Jango Fett the droid foundries on Geonosis. Viceroy Gunray appears to have been behind the assassination of Senator Amidala as the Bounty Hunter has collected his fee and been charged with his next target - Chancellor Palpatine."

"No!"

Luminara slanted a glance at Anakin, command cracking like a whip in her tone. "Padawan!"

Anakin subsided, but the rest of the message passed by without him really hearing it as his senses reeled with the revealed plot and the intended target. Chancellor Palpatine. His friend and mentor would be the next target for the elite Bounty Hunter. It made him sick just to think about it. Immediately be began turning the current guard lay out of the Chancellor over in his mind, struggling to find a way to protect his friend. His attention was caught by the image of his Master, lightsaber ignited and his focus returned to the sound of blaster fire.

_Obi-Wan!_

Anakin stretched on hand out towards his Master unthinking only to rear back as Obi-Wan vanished from the picture to be replaced by a Destroyer Droid. His hand dropped to his side, clenching into a fist as he fought against warring desires. To be at the Chancellor's side, to prevent anything from happening to one friend and mentor - or to rescue his Master, the man who was friend, brother and father to him.

Master Windu appeared, the picture of the Destroyer Droid disappearing, and he seemed to look straight at Anakin, though his words were coached for Luminara.

"Luminara. We need you and your Padawans to go to Geonosis and reconnoiter. If we're to attempt a rescue operation, we need more information."

"Yes Master Windu."

"May the Force be with you."

The transmission cut off. Anakin opened his mouth to speak but a sharp look from Luminara cut off whatever he was about to say. The Master radiated calm, like the center of a hurricane, when she turned to look at him directly. Her gaze shifted, taking in both him and Barriss and he drew himself up, squaring his shoulders as Barriss stepped infinitesimally closer.

Luminara's words were exactly what he hoped to hear. "We leave within the hour for Geonosis. Pack only what you can carry on you - we travel light. I trust I do not have to stress the importance of our mission?"

"No, Master."

Anakin managed a smile as he and Barriss chorused the answer. He didn't look at her, but he felt her standing close beside him. Their shoulders brushed - Barriss' to the back of his - and he drew strength from the contact. The look Luminara shot between them was contemplative, almost sad in its regard, before she seemed to come to some kind of conclusion.

"Barriss."

"Yes, Master?"

"You've worked with Anakin before - on Tatooine. My skills better compliment Obi-Wan's. The two of you are to remain close at all times. If I am caught-"

"Caught, Master?" Barriss blinked, surprised. "You'll be with us."

Luminara shook her head. "We will land together, but once inside I work best alone. The two of you have complementary skills and temperaments. It is possible my presence will be felt should I be unable to rescue Obi-Wan."

"But-"

Luminara held up one hand to silence whatever protests they might have made. "I know what Master Windu said. I also know that I have dealt with the Geonosians before. By the time the Jedi mount a rescue mission, it will be too late. Obi-Wan will be dead."

Barriss' hand squeezed Anakin's in silent support as Luminara continued.

"The two of you have never been to Geonosis. You will see it far more clearly than I and be able to report back to the council should anything happen to me. Be aware that the Geonosians look primitive, but their technologies are advanced in many ways. Once you make your transmission to the council, you _must_ change your position as soon as possible. Their tracking technologies are beyond even the Jedi to avoid. If I am successful in freeing Obi-Wan, we shall be able to rendezvous without drawing too much attention to ourselves. "

Anakin believed it. Obi-Wan and Luminara made a potent team. But then, so did he and Barriss.

"Master - what if Anakin and I are captured?"

"I trust you to use your judgment, Barriss. I am not separating us lightly. If you are attacked, Anakin has the prowess and skill to defend himself where as you have the diplomacy and wisdom to avoid entanglements. Should circumstances move beyond your control, both of you have shown the good judgment to know when to surrender. I don't say this lightly. The Geonosians are known for their blood thirsty entertainments. We could all end up with Obi-Wan in the center of one of their displays."

"Sounds cozy." Anakin's response was dry. "So why don't we go after Obi-Wan and you scope the place? Two of us would have no problem overpowering any guards that would be guarding him."

Luminara regarded him, amusement entering her expression. "How many Geonosian hives have you been in, Anakin?"

"None?"

"Then you know their layout? Where their centers of power are and how to reach them? You know your way in and out of the bowels of their dungeons and arenas? How to find where their prisoners are being kept?"

"I-" he stopped and flushed. "No, Master."

"I do. I'm trusting the two of you to locate the information the council needs and transmit it while I'm gone. Can you do that for me?"

"Yes, Master."

She pinned them both with a stern look. "And you'll behave yourselves." It wasn't a question.

Anakin's hand shifted a little, tightening around Barriss' as he moved it further from Luminara's view. That Barriss did nothing to pull her hand away - and in fact squeezed back as she stepped closer and smiled for her Master - was heartening. They responded as one, even as Anakin vowed to have his discussion with Barriss at the earliest opportunity. There were things that needed to be said between them, things she needed to know and he needed to air before he would feel balanced once more.

"Of course Master."

"Then pack and meet me on the landing pad. I will secure a ship that can comfortably carry four."

And just like that, their mission to Geonosis began.

* * *

><p>The small, sleek Nubian craft Luminara had obtained would have easily fit half a dozen Jedi comfortably, but it was all that was available that sat more than two. Anakin had ventured the desire to take a two seater fighter craft in, but the Master had quickly vetoed the idea - she wanted Anakin and Barriss where she could keep an eye on them for as long as possible. She'd compromised, allowing that his idea of two ships were better than one, by having a small fighter placed inside the Nubian's hold for emergencies. It only sat two, but Luminara suspected they'd squeeze the three of them in if necessary. Neither she nor Barriss were large - and robes could always be replaced.<p>

C3P0 voiced his displeasure at being left behind, but Anakin wouldn't - in good conscience - bring the droid along. He instead left him in the care of the Nabooian senatorial office and asked that they assigned him where needed for protocol duties. Letting 3P0 go felt like a release, a fetter having been undone, and Anakin wasn't too sure how he felt about it. Part of him believed he should have left the droid with his mother but another part of him was glad he hadn't. C3P0 deserved to serve in the capacity for which he'd been programmed.

Anakin took the helm of the Nubian at Luminara's insistence, lifting them from Naboo smoothly and quickly before aligning the space ship with its exit vector. Luminara worked the nav controls, already computing the jump to hyper space that would take them into the Geonosian system. Barriss worked the comm. channels and sensors, keeping the skies clear for their departure.

Once freed from the atmosphere, Anakin set the course on the heading indicated by Luminara to catapult them free of Naboo's gravity and leave them free to jump. It took several minutes, but underneath the thick tension in the cockpit, there was a sense of purpose as Anakin finally reached for the hyperspace controls. They were going to find and free a mutual friend or die trying.

* * *

><p>Once in hyperspace, Luminara left Anakin at the helm and unbuckled her crash webbing. "Barriss - a word."<p>

Barriss look up startled and then complied, untangling herself from her harness. She placed one hand on Anakin's shoulder as she stood, using him for balance rather than the surrounding consoles, before stepping towards the back. Luminara watched the exchange silently - include the way Barriss' fingers seemed to linger over the knotted braid trailing down Anakin's back. She also noted that Barriss didn't appear to be aware of the action and her resolution firmed in her mind.

If she hadn't already committed herself to searching for Obi-Wan on her own and allowing them to reconnoiter, she might have sent Anakin off to search. Only Anakin was a firebrand and needed a tempering influence. Luminara freely admitted she didn't understand the bond that had formed between the two Padawans that allowed Barriss to temper his strength and forge it into something useful; but it needed to be curbed. It was growing, even as Luminara watched, and the consequences could be disastrous.

Barriss trailed after her Master into the back cabin where Luminara closed the door and locked it. Barriss arched her eyebrows but said nothing, waiting patiently for her Master to speak. It was a trait she'd inherited from the normally placid Master. Yet, at this moment, Luminara paced in front of the door, seeming to be at a loss for words.

"Barriss."

"Yes, Master?"

"Time is short so I will be blunt. How far have things progressed between you and Padawan Skywalker?"

Barriss felt the color leave her face even as she strove for some kind of inner balance. She'd been expecting the question - dreading it - and her Master hadn't even eased her into it. She swallowed hard, unable to keep her gaze connected with her Masters, and it dropped to her own folded, fidgeting hands. "In what context, Master?"

Luminara sighed, her posture seeming to sag for a brief moment. "I was afraid of that. Barriss; look at me."

Barriss took a deep breath before she did as commanded, hesitantly lifting her gaze to her Master's. The compassion and _understanding_ she saw in Luminara's gaze bolstered her courage and enabled her to maintain that eye contact.

Luminara's smile was sad. "We're all permitted our indiscretions, Padawan. All of us; even the most steadfast of Masters. I too, succumbed to the passions of youth, as you are doing, as Anakin is doing - as Obi-Wan Kenobi once did."

The elder woman braced herself, feet apart, as if preparing to face a mighty wind. Only Barriss couldn't speak - she would _never_ have believed Luminara, let alone _Obi-Wan_ of all people - as having been prey to their baser urges. They were _Masters_ and not prone to such... un-Jedi like compulsions.

Luminara continued when it was obvious Barriss wasn't going to comment. "To use a euphuism that not all agree with; Jedi are human. Regardless of all we strive to be, of all we train to be, all of us stumble occasionally. Even the best of us. I do not know about Master Yoda's indiscretions of youth, however, Master Yaddle once made note that he, too, succumbed once a long time ago."

"But Master-"

Luminara held up one hand to forestall whatever objection Barriss would have made. "I only tell you this now as you are reaching a critical point. Again I ask - how far have things between you and Padawan Skywalker progressed?"

Barriss' hands clenched into fists. "Not as far as you believe based on your lecture."

"The physical entanglements of a Jedi are the least dangerous, where as the emotional are the most perilous. You care for one another. It is my duty to discern exactly how much and if it can be tempered into something else before it progresses too far."

"Is that what your Master did?"

Luminara smiled faintly. "Barriss, I only have your best interest at heart. Should things continue on the path they seem to be taking, both you and Anakin could be expelled. You're too good of a person, too valuable of a _Jedi_ to allow that to happen."

"But-" Barriss stopped. This conversation wasn't taking the course she'd expected. Trust her Master to approach the subject in such a fashion. "Allow what to happen, Master?"

Luminara finally motioned for Barriss to sit. She did, reluctantly, before the Jedi Master sat across from her at the small table. Luminara's hands were folded together over the table top and if Barriss hadn't known her Master as well as she did, she'd have said the older Jedi was calm and rational - except there was a whitening of Luminara's knuckles that hadn't been there before. A part of her was perversely pleased even as her Master continued.

"Barriss, you are at an age where the male of the species will take an interest with you and you in them. Were we back on our home planet, you would be undergoing trials of another sort before selecting your first mate. I do not want you to confuse teenage hormones and a lustful drive with something more dangerous."

"Master!"

"Now is not the time for tact, Padawan. I wish we had the time, but you are entering a dangerous situation with a young man who has become fixated on you."

"You sound as if you speak from experience, Master."

"I do."

"Are you saying that... _you_ became fixated on someone?"

"Briefly." Luminara's look was almost pained. "I was fortunate that my fixation was well managed by my Master. She taught me to see beyond what I felt to the heart of the matter and realize that friendships - a permissible relationship within the Jedi order - are much more rewarding than the emotional entanglements I was headed for."

Something seemed to click in Barriss' mind at the moment and her jaw dropped. She practically read the certainty in her Master's face. "You're not serious."

"Deadly."

"But-"

Luminara arched an eyebrow, as if waiting impatiently for Barriss to process the information and regurgitate it.

"You and... and _Master Kenobi_?"

Luminara's silent nod was a confirmation and enlightenment - and suddenly, Barriss saw this rescue mission in a completely different light. "But... we're racing off to rescue Master Kenobi - isn't that against all that the Jedi teach? Isn't it an... _emotional_ decision?"

"There is no emotion; there is peace." Luminara quoted the verse from the Jedi code mildly. "This is not the reckless jaunt you appear to think it to be. I am... compelled by both the Force and my conscience to attempt this rescue. Something monumental is going to happen on Geonosis. Something that will turn the tide... and Obi-Wan is one of the keys."

"But you just said-"

Luminara folded her hands over Barriss' and smiled sadly. "You will learn, my young Padawan, that not all things are as they seem. Master Windu did not order me to remain on Naboo - he ordered us to reconnoiter the planet. He _knew_ I would not sit idly by while Obi-Wan is held captive, but he also knows I do not act rashly. If Obi-Wan's freedom can be obtained without a loss of life and without disregarding the greater good, it will be the Will of the Force."

"And if it's his time to..." Barriss couldn't finish the sentence. She didn't want to _think_ of the pain her Master must be hiding inside at the thought of losing someone as close to her as Obi-Wan.

Luminara squeezed Barriss' captured hands briefly before letting them go and folding her own back into her sleeves. Her words were calm, confident, and left Barriss little room for doubt. "If it was the will of the Force that Obi-Wan die on Geonosis, I would not be compelled to help him."

"Unless it's the will of the Force that we all die on Geonosis."

The smile that crossed Luminara's lips as she rose to her feet was almost feral. "Then, Padawan, we will take as many of them with us as we can."


	13. Chapter 13

**Part 13**

Luminara and Barriss returned to the cockpit to find Anakin maneuvering through an asteroid belt above the planet of Geonosis. He didn't spare either of them a look as he threw the ship around the obstacles with deceptive ease. Anakin was renown, even in the Jedi order, for his abilities as a pilot, but watching him was breath taking. Barriss remained standing in the doorway to the cockpit, unable to tear her gaze from Anakin's face as he flew.

There was something in his expression, something she recognized that rang an answering bell in her own mind - the pure pleasure of doing something he loved. It was the same feeling she saw on his face that she felt when she healed someone else. It was the joy of knowing you were in your element, of wallowing in something in which you were unmatched.

Luminara's none too subtle Force push propelled Barriss from the doorway and back towards her seat. She managed not to flush at the pointed, cautionary look her Master sent her way as she strapped back into her crash webbing.

Anakin directed the ship into the Geonosian atmosphere just as she buckled the last of the ties and the ship shuddered with the atmospheric friction. Anakin dialed down the inertial compensators and the shudder disappeared. He cast a sheepish look over his shoulder at the other Jedi.

"Sorry."

Barriss turned her attention to the scanners. "What am I looking for, Master?"

"Anything that will get us inside the main subterranean hive."

"Like what?"

"Heat vents." Anakin spoke up from the controls. "Waste ports, anything where they'd vent steam or dangerous particles from the foundries."

Barriss sucked in a sharp breath, narrowing the scanners on an energy signature. "Are those what I think they are? Droid Federation control ships?"

"Correct," Luminara had pulled up Barriss' sensor data on her own screen. "Our ship is small enough to avoid detection for a short period of time. Anakin?"

"Got it."

Barriss frowned and then gasped as the ship suddenly tilted and Anakin sent it hurtling towards the ground. Her stomach hit her boots before they leveled out close to the surface, the terrain speeding by on all sides. The words popped out before she could stop them. "We're not in a pod racer!"

Anakin's laugh was full of delighted mischief. "Nope; we're in something better! Relax, you're in good hands."

Despite his reassurance, Barriss kept her eyes glued to the screen in fascinated horror as the ship swayed back and forth, ducking under overhands she was certain they'd hit before barely clearing a cliff ledge at an almost completely vertical angle. They turned sharply, following a canyon rim before Luminara's calm voice finally penetrated the tension that was starting to seep from Barriss' consciousness.

"There. That will do nicely. Five degrees to starboard."

"I see it." Anakin banked the ship in a tight turn and dove straight into the ventilation shaft without hesitation.

Barriss squeezed her eyes shut, unable to look, and certain they'd be dashed against the rocks at any moment.

Anakin's low chuckle echoed through the cabin. "So little faith you have in me, my friend. I've been flying since I could walk."

Taking a deep breath, Barriss forced herself to open her eyes. She was rewarded by the ever slowing view of the shaft walls as the ship approached where Anakin would land it. She exhaled noisily as the ship finally settled with barely a bump to the surface Anakin had chosen. From what little she could see of it - for the view port was facing the chasm the ship threatened to fall into - the ledge was built for service craft.

"Safely down," Anakin's voice was soft, barely carrying over the click and snap of the controls as he powered down the ship, but there was no mistaking the smug satisfaction in it. He glanced back over his shoulder at her, his eye twinkling with mirth. "You fly like my Master, Barriss. I _told_ you that you were in good hands."

"I prefer solid ground, thanks."

Luminara seemed to pay their exchange little heed and was already on her feet standing at the cockpit entrance. "Get your bearings and see if the transmitter will reach Coruscant; I will return in a minute."

Both Padawans looked at her startled, but the Master was already gone, the sound of the ramp lowering reverberating in the near silence of the ship. Anakin, already free of his crash webbing, moved to stand next to Barriss before crouching beside her chair and quickly assisting her with the buckles of her own restraints. Their fingers brushed, freezing for a moment over the same buckle before Barriss pulled back as if burned. Anakin's lips thinned into a tight line and a moment later all of the remaining buckles sprang free, releasing her from the confines of the chair. He stepped back, rising to his full height once more as he gave her room to get free.

He busied himself testing the ship's systems; including the portable transmitted he would carry with him, for power levels and signal strength. Apparently satisfied with their performance, he placed the unit on his belt at the small of his back before rummaging through one of the compartments near the door. Barriss said nothing as Anakin turned and led the way from the cockpit, placing several more items on his belt as he went. She wasn't surprised, however, when they entered the rear area where she and Luminara had spoken, when he finally turned to her.

Gone was the exuberance of flight. The carefree smile that had lit his expression so totally was masked behind eyes of penetrating ice. "What did she say to you?"

"Isn't this a bad time?"

Anakin glanced towards the hatchway leading to the ramp area at the far end of the room. "We were told to wait - it might be the only time we've got."

"But the mission-"

"Barriss."

She took a steadying breath and then smiled faintly. "Master Luminara spoke mostly of her own... indiscretions as a Jedi."

"Her own?" He echoed the words, his surprise clear, though his tone encouraged her to proceed.

Barriss nodded. "She's noticed how close you and I are getting and wanted to... to curb any kind of emotional attachment that might hinder our development as Jedi."

"What did you tell her?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing." He sounded like he didn't believe her. Anakin stepped closer, one eye on the hatchway, his senses casting outward even as he lifted his hands to Barriss' shoulders. "What is it exactly she wants to curb, Barriss? What does she think she can do? This... whatever this is, is between you and I, isn't something easily controlled."

"I know that." Her hands came up to light encircle his wrists. "Don't you think I know that? I know what I saw when I was healing - you and I are entwined in our destinies. We're meant to help one another, I just don't know how yet."

"You ground me." His hands shifted, caressing her cloth covered shoulders as they slowly slid towards her neck. "You... you make me feel whole, invincible, Barriss. How can I give that - give _you_ - up?"

She stared at him mutely as his hands gently cupped her face, his thumbs brushing over her cheeks. His azure eyes were solemn, conflicted, as if he fought an inner battle she couldn't see or feel. Yet the evidence was there. His fingers shook as they caressed her skin.

"I couldn't bear the thought of losing you, Barriss. The very idea..." he paused, as if searching for the right words. "It hurts. I can't breathe. When I think about living a life without you... life seems pointless. You're in everything I see and everything I touch."

"I don't-"

"Barriss. Anakin."

They jumped apart as if burned when Luminara's voice drifted in from the hatchway, but she didn't appear as expected. The Padawans looked towards the entry way, nervously exchanging a strained look as they silently wondered what the Master might have seen and heard, but Luminara didn't show herself.

"Master?"

"Come here."

Barriss moved forward but Anakin's hand shot out to grasp her arm. He shook his head once, imperceptibly, his lightsaber already in hand, before stepping forward cautiously. He motioned her to one side of the hatchway, mindful of the Master's comments about Geonosians, and took up position. Peeking out, he encountered Luminara's amused - but approving - gaze. Luminara beckoned with one hand before turning away, crouching low and disappearing from sight.

"Really, Anakin," Barriss scolded with a grin, "don't you think I'd know if my Master was in any danger?"

His smile was sheepish. "Sorry; habit."

They descended the ramp, Barriss hanging back and to the side, her lightsaber in hand as Anakin took point. She turned his words over in her head, a part of her desperately seeking a way out, while the better part of her was thrilled. She hadn't meant to affect him so greatly, but it appeared he was just as affected as she when it came to whatever it was between them. And just as out of control.

The sight of her Master waiting patiently to the side and just under the ramp of the ship as they hit ground was enough to bring her thoughts back to the present - and shield the wayward emotions she found harder to fight by the moment. Whatever was happening between her and Anakin, it was like wild fire. The more time they spent together, the larger it grew and she _knew_ no matter what her Master tried, curbing it would be next to impossible.

And a part of her, a very secret part, didn't want to curb it - she wanted to see what would happen if it was given free rein to grow.

Luminara crouched, motioning for them to do the same, and then began drawing in the dirt of the landing platform with one finger. "Best as I can tell, we're on the same side of the refinery as their main attack droid factories. That means that through that access hatchway," she pointed vaguely to her left, "there is going to be a tunnel with several side corridors. The main tunnel should lead directly into the heart of the refinery itself. I'm confident one of the side corridors leads to the interconnected under city and Obi-Wan." There was more scratching and a drawing of what appeared to be a multi-level cone appeared in the dirt. "This is the base layout of a Geonosian hive; several of these interconnect to form great colonies. From what I observed as we descended, we are almost in the heart of the largest colony on the planet."

"How many Geonosians live in a hive?"

"Several thousand, possibly tens of thousands, depending on the size of the hive. The cluster we're facing is likely to house several hundred thousand - possibly over a million."

Anakin and Barriss exchanged looks and Barriss spoke before he could. "And we're supposed to pass through undetected?"

Luminara's answering smile was faint. "Not completely. Geonosians are pacifists by nature. They engaged in combat only when threatened and tend to use swarm tactics. Don't misunderstand me," the look she pinned on them was deadly serious. "They _will_ kill you if you make it necessary. They will also, likely, choose to capture you for their games rather than kill you so you can entertain the entire colony and not just themselves. They are society oriented, almost fanatically so, and will sacrifice themselves for the greater good."

"Sounds like a weakness."

Anakin snapped his jaw shut as Luminara turned glittering eyes his way, her hood casting her feature in shadow and lending her a more dangerous appearance than usual. "It is, but it is also their strength. They think nothing of their own lives, Padawan Skywalker. I'm _trusting_ you to obtain the information the council needs and to send it off before doing something rash."

"I won't let you down, Master."

"We." Barriss corrected softly. "We won't let you down. Where do we rendezvous once the information has been sent?"

Luminara nodded towards the ship. "Here, if your access isn't completely obstructed."

"And our secondary meeting point."

"You say that as if you often use a secondary meeting point, Anakin."

He shrugged with a half-smile. "Master Obi-Wan and I often find our primary point of exit is... obstructed."

"Or destroyed." Barriss slanted him a knowing look. "Geonosians are space worthy, correct?"

Luminara shook her head. "They are not. They do travel with others and are advanced enough to encourage trade. Their hangar bays should be here-" she touched a part of the map almost on the other side of the complex from where she figured them to be. "Of course, if I'm right, Obi-Wan will be here." Another finger touched the map and both Padawans winced. They'd landed almost in the middle. Luminara would need to backtrack with Obi-Wan to get to the landing pad if they couldn't reach the Nabooian ship.

"Would you like a diversion, Master?" Anakin's eyes glittered. "I'm certain we could arrange something."

"If you haven't heard from me in thirty minutes, I'll take you up on that." Luminara slapped her hand against the dirt, obliterating her crude drawing. "Questions?"

Both Padawans shook their heads and Luminara nodded once. "Then may the Force be with you."

Anakin and Barriss echoed the sentiment, but they did it to air. Luminara was already gone, disappearing into the hatchway across the platform and ducking into the Geonosian labyrinth. They shared a look and Anakin opened his mouth to speak - to continue their earlier conversation.

Barriss placed her hand over his mouth. "Not here. Not now. You and I both know the cost of traveling the road you're asking me to take. When this mission is over, once Master Kenobi is rescued, you can try and convince me to give up my dreams - or to alter them."

His eyes flared as if she'd struck him, but her words held a wisdom Obi-Wan usually voiced. Reluctantly acquiescing, Anakin nodded and forced himself to sweep his wayward emotions into the back of his mind. Barriss turned away as Anakin composed himself, struggling against the hurt her words had released. He couldn't afford to be distracted and while having this discussion now would have helped _him_, he knew why Barriss didn't want to get into it right then. And, more importantly he respected it.

They had a job to do - and it wasn't going to be easy.


	14. Chapter 14

**Part 14**

Anakin led the way into the hive, following the path that Luminara had outlined so very briefly. They reconnoitered, his senses cast out at the furthest point to try and gauge the numbers around him. The input was staggering - the hive was teaming with life - and made it impossible to estimate numbers. Barriss had no better luck, despite her finely honed empathy skills, and was quickly forced to limit the band of their search. Opening up fully to the minds around her caused disorientation and nausea as she tried to sort through the interdependent brains.

Barriss gave up after bare moments with the briefest shake of her head. There was no way she could do any better than he, not without serious concentration and time. Anakin accepted it - he'd expected no different - and flashed a grin that bespoke a slightly reckless thrill with the knowledge that their potential enemy was uncountable. Barriss nodded in the direction they needed to go, her expression carefully blank.

Yet, it wasn't her expression that had Anakin's grin fading - it was the sudden almost imperceptible shift between them. The Force connection arced like a live wire as they opened themselves to its pull, to its guidance, and their eyes locked. Blue clashed with brown as they struggled against the knowledge of what they needed to do versus what they _wanted_ to do. Anakin took a reluctant step towards her, a question in his gaze.

Tearing her gaze away, Barriss closed her eyes and lifted her hands to her face. She inhaled deeply, looking for the calm that always came with such familiar discipline. It was slow in coming, her awareness of her companion heightened by the invisible current that seemed to tie them together. She fought against it and leashed it - for the moment - before opening her eyes to him again.

Anakin was closer now, but his gaze was beyond her, his expression focused. Something had caught his attention.

"Don't move."

She did as he said, trusting his instincts in a way she'd only ever trusted her Master's before. She knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Anakin would do nothing to see her harmed. Anakin peered around a corner carefully, Barriss watching the lines of his body for tell tale signals that would warn her of movement.

There were none.

The sounds beyond him drifted to her as the silence around them deepened. Mechanical noises - the sounds of the foundry. Anakin turned to catch her eye and made a motion for continued silence before slipping around the corner. Barriss moved in behind him, staying close, her eyes darting opposite of where she knew he was looking.

They went unchallenged as they stepped further into the complex, but something behind them stirred. She could _feel_ the shift as if the hive itself was animating. "Anakin."

"I know."

He nodded to a doorway on her left. Barriss hit the activation switch and the door slid open, revealing a factory that defied the scope of imagination. She stopped, shocked. The whole lower section of the hive - what her Master had believed to be living quarters - had been transformed into a massive war manufacturing plant.

"Barriss!"

Barriss snapped out of her awe as the sound of Anakin's soft hiss. She mentally shook herself and took in the drop to the conveyor belt below. There was a door on the far side and the platform below her was starting to retract. Gathering the Force about her, she took two steps and leapt. The jump was an easy one and she landed without incident in the doorway beyond, her hand slapping the activation plate on the door as she did.

Anakin was right behind her and rolled through it as she barely avoided having him land atop her. Securing the door behind her, she took in their surroundings. It was another corridor like the last one, only this one had a distinctive slope upwards and looked down over the one side into the droid factory. From their current position she could feel the heat of the smelters, see the final assembly line and just make out the automated cutters beyond.

"Riveting, isn't it?"

"You sound like you've seen one of these before."

"Close enough." Anakin's smile was grim as he waved one hand at the scene below them. "It's like the slave markets back on Tatooine. Different process, but same goal. Automatons that will follow orders and come to their Master's call."

"They don't make slaves the same way; I don't-"

"Don't they?" He pinned her with a cool look. "You don't know, Barriss. You'll _never_ know what it was like. No one should. Slavery is wrong - the Republic is right about that. You're standing here gawking at this creation process with the same look - minus the covetous nature and I thank you for that - with which I was faced every day of my life until Master Qui-Gon rescued me."

"Anakin-"

He held up his hand and sighed. "You didn't deserve that, I'm sorry."

She blinked, surprised, but Anakin turned away.

"Come on; we need to find their storage bays for the finished droids to get an estimate."

"What if they're just loading them onto the droid control ships we saw when we came in?"

"Do you remember how many there were?"

"Over a dozen." Barriss' eyes widened in sudden shock. "Anakin, what if this is a trap? With so many droid control ships, the army they control will be enormous and Jedi are mortal - no matter how much the council preaches otherwise."

"I doubt they caught Master Obi-Wan simply to lure the Jedi in."

"But what if they did?"

"Then we're all in trouble. Come on - we'd better find high ground and report our findings - and your hunch."

* * *

><p>Across the hive, in an almost completely opposite direction, Luminara crouched in the shadows of the archway leading into the prison complex. She'd masked her Force signature with difficulty, feeling the presence of an individual she had thought long dead - and now knew not to be so. His presence was disturbing as his signature was twisted and tainted.<p>

Count Dooku.

Lurking, gathering intelligence, she forced herself to breathe evenly as she watched the guards. Ever thirty seconds they roamed in front of three cells, rotating through their patrols in rather pathetically predictable patterns. One cell in particular was veered away from, as if they didn't dare approach to a close enough distance to see who was inside.

Luminara already knew.

She'd felt the pull of Kenobi's pure presence from the ship well before they'd landed. Their friendship had been built and forged in difficulties, both physical and mental, through which they had supported one another. What she hadn't told her Padawan was that the relationship she and Obi-Wan had formed was one that still continued to this day - and was done without the approval or knowledge of the council.

It was one reason she had no problems tracking him - or he her. It was an unacknowledged and denied part of their relationship. It was something better ignored, controlled and regarded as non-existent - except in times of adversity.

One of those times was now.

Cloaked in shadow, Luminara carefully drew the Force around her. She was careful to do so slowly, to prevent the ripples she knew Count Dooku would feel. Once she had enough power for her needs, that power was harnessed into her own body. With a careful flip, she threw herself into a roll as the guards passed beyond sight for several moments. When they reappeared, she was inside the holding area several meters from the holding cell in which Obi-Wan was being held.

She moved as the sentry turned away, distracted by something one of its companions had said - or rather it _thought_ its companion had said. Luminara didn't have Obi-Wan's affinity for making other people believe what he wanted them to believe; for affecting their minds. She did however have other skills at her disposal and she used them now. Channeling the Force through her body, she called upon it to leap into the shadowy overhand of Obi-Wan's prison. Flattening herself against the dome, she slid partway back until she was positive she was completely cloaked in darkness.

Geonosians weren't known for their observation skills - it was something she was counting on.

Placing her palms flat against the rocky substance making up Obi-Wan's cage, she _pushed_, focusing on the tiny grains of material between them. The granules rotated in a small, silent circle, gathering momentum before Luminara carefully directed them _down_. The grains acted like a boring tool, digging into the surface quickly and without a sound. Several minutes of intense concentration later, they were through and she had a peep hole.

A less disciplined Jedi would have gasped at the sight she beheld. As it was she remained silently stoic, listening as the words filtered to her ears.

Sometime during her boring project, Count Dooku had appeared in Obi-Wan's cell and, if she heard him right, the older Jedi now Sith, was trying to bring Obi-Wan to his side.

"-would never join you." Obi-Wan's even words made her smile, even though she hadn't caught the whole of what was being said. Obi-Wan was an idealist, a man who believed in the system so completely that the dark would never tempt him. There was nothing in him to tempt.

Dooku's next words were muffled, distorted by the small hole and unclear. She listened, amplifying her hearing with the Force and the words began to come through clearly. Alarmingly so.

"- knew all about the corruption in the Senate, but he would never have gone along with it if he had known the truth as I have."

Not Obi-Wan then. Who had they been talking about?

"The truth?"

"The truth. What if I told you that the Republic was now under the control of the Dark Lords of the Sith?"

"No; that's not possible. The Jedi would be aware of it."

"The darkside of the Force has clouded their vision, my friend. Hundreds of Senators are now under the influence of a Sith Lord called Darth Sidious."

What Dooku was saying began to penetrate beyond simple listening and a chill stole over her. What if he was right? What if he _wasn't_ lying? There was something in his speech that rang true - despite the fact that his very presence seemed tainted with darkness. Sith were master manipulators, but could they make a falsehood ring as true sounding as this? She didn't know and a part of her denied the possibility. But the alternative, that Dooku really _was_ telling the truth, was almost as horrific to contemplate.

Below her, Obi-Wan turned on in the invisible cell, his restraints crackling at his wrists and ankles. "I don't believe you."

"The Viceroy of the Trade Federation was once in league with this Darth Sidious. But he was betrayed ten years ago by the Dark Lord. He came to me for help. He told me everything. The Jedi Council would not believe him. I tried many times to warn them but they wouldn't listen to me. Once they sensed the Dark Lord's presence, it would then be too late. You must join me, Obi-Wan, and together we will destroy the Sith."

Luminara's eyebrows drew together in silent contemplation as Obi-Wan denounced Dooku and the Count turned to leave. She didn't focus on his words - they were likely some parting shot anyway - and instead turned over the conversation in her mind. If what Dooku said was true - despite how unlikely it could be - than they were all in greater danger than they'd supposed.

Risking detection, Luminara stretched out to Barriss through their Master and Padawan link and focused on a single image. The council, one way or another, had to be warned.

* * *

><p>A hand darted out, catching Anakin's shoulder as Barriss clutched him for sudden support. He turned, catching her around the waist, and he eased her against one of the nearby pillars. Her hand was on her forehead, her expression pained.<p>

"What is it?"

"My Master." Barriss flinched. "Something is wrong. Something is _very_ wrong."

Anakin cast a glance down the alternative hallways. "Would that diversion we talked about help now?"

Barriss shook her head. "Not yet. This is something else. Something closer to home - something about Coruscant."

Anakin watched as she struggled to understand what her Master was trying to tell her. "Can I help?"

"Keep watch."

"But if I-"

"Anakin-"

He was already shaking his head before she voiced her objection. He didn't speak, simply lifted his hand to cover hers... and lights exploded behind her eyes. Unconsciously, she controlled the exposure to the raw Force that Anakin channeled and directed it to where it needed to go. Anakin's presence was strong beside hers, supportive as it hadn't been before and didn't struggle against her control. A measure of his new awareness and what it had done to her the last time.

The image her Master was trying to send her burst into sharp focus - only it was accompanied with words; something she'd never before experienced.

_The Senate may be under the direct influence of a Sith Lord. Warn the Council. Trap!_

Anakin's presence faded in her conscious mind and the message went with it, a if he'd grasped it and pulled it from the very fabric of the Force itself. Her vision returned and she found herself wrapped securely in Anakin's arms, pressed up against the pillar. His face was close, tilted towards hers, his eyes closed. His color was also ashen.

"Anakin?"

"I have to warn the Chancellor." Her grip on his twitched and he opened conflicted eyes to meet hers. "I have to warn them all!"

Barriss balled her hands into fists, gripping a part of his tunic, and shook with every muscle, rattling Anakin's composure as she jerked him slightly off his feet and back to them with a hard wack. "Snap out of it! If the Senate's under the control of a Sith, than that Sith is a person of power." The facts added together quickly in her mind - and she didn't like the conclusion one bit. "Only the Chancellor _has_ that kind of sway right now, Anakin!"

"But he's not... he couldn't be..." Anakin shook his head, disoriented and reeling by her sudden attack. He wasn't really seeing her - but he didn't let go.

Barriss shifted her grip, finding enough room to maneuver her arms between their bodies so she could grip him by the lapels. It was an interesting exercise when he had the height advantage on her, but somehow she managed to do it and jerked his face down and forward. Their foreheads connected forcefully with a dull sounding _thud_ and Barriss hung on as Anakin's eyes almost crossed before righting themselves.

"What'd you-"

"Snap out of it!" The order was harsher for her low tone. "If the Chacellor is a Sith, he's fooled everyone - not only you. The Council could be in greater danger than you think."

"Master Luminara said _may_ be under the sway." Anakin seemed to be grasping at straws, but Barriss could tell his panic was subsided, his control returning even as she watched. "We can't be sure."

"We have to tell them anyway." Barriss shook him lightly by the lapels. "We're almost at transmitting height. If My Master is right then this whole set up, including Obi-Wan's, capture is a trap for the Jedi; a way to lure us into a slaughter. They need to be warned!"

"She just said trap, you can't know the context."

Barriss searched his gaze. "Anakin, you saw the same images I did. The same cell, the same Sith who's holding Obi-Wan captive."

"I don't know him."

"Neither do I, but my Master did. I know it, I _feel_ it - and she's worried, Anakin. If you'd look beyond your own self-centered outlook, you'd feel it too."

"I'm not self centered!"

"Then don't act like it." She released his lapels, her hands sliding down to rest lightly on his collar bone for lack of a better place - and no space to drop them further. "This is bigger than you or I, Anakin. Bigger and more dangerous."

"Are you sure about that?"

Barriss sucked in a sharp breath, her eyes widening when his head suddenly came down. She tried, in that split second to avoid his kiss, but she didn't move fast enough and Anakin was determined to make his point. She resisted him, attempting to fight both his insistent mouth and the _zing_ that arced through her system with the touch of his lips. This wasn't what she'd been speaking of when she'd considered dangers, but maybe she should have been. The volatile chemistry between them exploded as she gave in, unable to escape pinned as she was against the pillar.

Not that she wanted to escape.

The force of the kiss, the urgency of it, coupled with the intimate press of their bodies fired the blood and spiraled her thoughts into oblivion. Despite the very danger of their situation, Barriss was lost in seconds to an embrace she hadn't expected or prepared herself for. The Force sang at the contact, igniting a fire within her that had nothing to do with physical yearning. She reached for Anakin unconsciously, embracing him with both physical and mental arms, and pulling him that bit closer.

Anakin somehow tore himself away before the pounding of the blood in his ears carried him beyond the edge of sanity. Barriss clung to him, her breathing ragged against the bare skin of his throat as he was sure his was against hers. There was unfinished business between them, uncertainties, unknowns and the very real possibility of expulsion of the Jedi Order.

But it didn't matter. Without words, the Force had made Anakin's case for him. Whatever it was that lay between he and Barriss, the urgings of the Force couldn't be denied. It _wanted_ them together. It _needed_ them together. And in a fashion neither quite understood, but their instincts seemed to grasp. What Anakin wanted to know was _why_ the Force seemed to need this so desperately - not that he objected. If Barriss would simply agree and put him - and the Force - out of their misery the subtle insistences would stop.

Or so he believed.

Holding Barriss in his arms, he sneaked a look around. Their interlude hadn't been caught, they still hadn't been spotted, but the Force - closer than ever when Barriss was in his arms - had alerted him to both of their Masters anxiousness. But it wasn't something immediate and neither was in danger. It was like the Force was determined to prove him right.

Something - the darkside in him - made him speak.

"Still think that's more dangerous?"

Her burst of laughter was muffled against his neck before she pulled back, her expression solemn despite the dancing of her eyes. "I don't know what's more dangerous." The mirth in her eyes faded into wariness. "We shouldn't be doing this Anakin."

He eased his grip on her, allowing her to step off the toes of his boots and back to the floor once more. He cocked an eyebrow. "You're an eager participant for something we shouldn't be doing."

Barriss flushed and dropped her arms from around his neck. "I... I can't seem to help myself."

"Then you know how it feels."

"Anakin-"

"I know. Bad timing." He sighed and stepped back, scanning the area beyond her. Something - anything - to keep his gaze off her flushed face. "This thing between us isn't going to go away, Barriss. Each time I touch you it's like I can't stop - I don't _want_ to stop. And with the Force..." he stopped.

"I know." Her whispered acceptance was painful. "But we have a mission to complete before anything else."

"Then let's send that message and collect our Masters before this place comes down around our ears."

Barriss offered no protests as Anakin led the way towards the upper levels once more. There was nothing to say that wouldn't make things worse and in her most private of places where even her Master couldn't penetrate, she silently admitted that Anakin was right. Fighting whatever was between them seemed silly - pointless - with how volatile it was. But there lay the source of her caution. Would she be able pull away if she gave in and allowed nature to take its course? Could she do so and still remain intact, her heart free from entanglements?

She knew nothing of love - not the way Anakin did - but what little she did know forced her to err on the side of caution. Something told her that a fling with Anakin Skywalker - an indiscretion as her Master had so delicately put it - wasn't something she'd be able walk away from with herself intact.

So the question remained now as it had before; was it worth the risk?


	15. Chapter 15

**Part 15**

Luminara checked discreetly for guards before angling her lightsaber to the side and just above where Obi-Wan's cell was connected to the wall of the hive. Using the lowest setting possible on the hilt, she drew an outline of the hole she'd need to cut. The outline was then increased, the lightsaber blade cutting in just shy of all the way through as she made the entry point.

Checking one last time for guards - and ensuring those outside the cell were occupied - and deactivated her lightsaber. A shift and a roll later, she lay just to the right of the outlined hole and _pulled_. The Force lent strength to her muscles as the hole cover gave way, coming out in her hands. Cut like a plug, it would fit nicely back into place once she and Obi-Wan had used it for escape.

Placing the plug to the side, she peered into the hole.

Obi-Wan still turned slowly in place, the binders on his wrists and ankles also Force Inhibitors; the shielded cage a final touch. His eyes were closed, his breathing even, and Luminara knew just by looking that he was meditating, centering himself for the hours to come.

A smile crossed her lips fleetingly. He didn't yet know how those next hours would differ from what he imagined.

The room was empty, no guards left on the inside after Dooku's visit, except for the video feeds that would be to a central location. Using a trick she hadn't needed to use for a long time, she momentarily blinded them. With the cameras disabled, even for a short time, Obi-Wan's escape would be noted more quickly, but there was no help for it.

Dooku didn't need to know he was now facing two Jedi Masters - and their exceptionally strong Padawans.

Luminara pulled herself through the hole head-first, lightsaber in hand, neatly tucking into a half summersault in mid-aid before she landed in a crouch. Perfect balance allowed her to make little sound and she used it here to her advantage.

Bending to the base of the console, examining the controls and her lips thinned. She knew about Geonosians, but she didn't read their language. The green lights she _guessed_ meant that Obi-Wan's restraints and force cage were still active.

There was no help for it - she had no time to fiddle with the controls before they sent someone to check on the video feed.

Obi-Wan's eyes flew open at the telltale _snap-hiss_ of a lightsaber's activation.

"Miss me?"

"Ara! How-"

"Later." Luminara told him sharply and thrust the blade into the control panel for Obi-Wan's cage. The lights flickered and abruptly died, releasing the trapped Jedi and eliminating the Force restriction.

Obi-Wan landing on the balls of his feet inside the containment unit. He stepped out, and Luminara didn't give him the chance to ask questions. She turned, gesturing to the roof, and then leapt. Shooting through the hole, she rolled gracefully once out and spun, catching herself on the lip with one hand. Obi-Wan was right behind her, understanding without words the urgent need for speed. The moment he was through, the plug went back into the roof - not that it would matter. Only a lightsaber could do the damage she'd done to his cage controls.

Luminara nodded back the way she'd come, opening herself to the link she and Obi-Wan had once shared. Using it - for she felt his acceptance of the necessity in the circumstance - she sent images of where they were headed, and the impression of absolute secrecy. An image of Anakin and Barriss came next followed by a transmitter.

His nod of understanding was all she needed before she moved off. Following her earlier tactics, she distracted the already bored guards and led the way back towards the tunnel where she'd entered. Obi-Wan stuck close, almost on her hip, and watched her back.

They had just entered the tunnel exit when an alarm sounded.

* * *

><p>Sending the message proved to be an easy task once Anakin set his mind to it. They were able to find an exterior balcony and he quickly dispatched the information. He'd kept it short and to the point, leaving the remote to transmit on thirty second bursts every two minutes while Barriss stood watch. It was picked up immediately, indicating that the rescuers were likely closer than anticipated, but no return messages were sent.<p>

The set up allowed him time with his thoughts - and time to mentally berate himself for kissing her.

He shouldn't have touched her. Shouldn't have kissed her. The second his fingers touched her skin, it was like he was a lost cause. And maybe he was. There was just something about Barriss that was compelling and irresistible regardless of how much he wanted to respect her wishes to deal with this volatile pull between them after this mission, he was starting to suspect that wouldn't be possible. Not because he didn't want to, but because the Force was _urging_ him to.

Urges that were becoming more and more difficult to keep in check.

"Are you done yet?"

Anakin didn't look up from checking the transmitter's power couplings. "The signal is sending, but it's like something is generating interference. I don't know if the whole message is getting through."

"Part of it is better than nothing." Barriss' tone held a note of urgency that hadn't been there before and Anakin was suddenly flooded with a sense of foreboding. "We need to move."

He flipped the side panel shut and stood. "What is it?"

"Something's changed. Shifted." She didn't look happy about it as her hand went to her lightsaber hilt. "We'd better go."

Anakin checked their surroundings, peeking from the balcony to the inside of the hive before glancing back to Barriss. "Are you alright?"

"I'll be better once we're back on the ship."

Anakin took the hint.

Leading the way back into the winding corridors, he retraced his steps down and around the interior hallways. Each step they took, the feeling increased, gnawing on his gut, propelling him to move more quickly but giving no clue as to why.

They entered a large cavern, the darkness stretching out and beyond their line of sight. It was a room they'd circumvented the last time, shying away from the open area, but Anakin's feet had led him straight back to it. Uneasy, he suddenly stopped and the Force pulsed a warning. Holding his hand, lightsaber extended but not on, to the side to halt Barriss' progress, he scanned the darkness.

"Wait."

She unhooked her lightsaber from her belt, feeling the same compulsion from the Force but not understanding it. "What is it?"

Anakin shook his head. He didn't know. It was simply a feeling, the knowledge that they were in danger...

A strange sound, like wings flapping, came from above and his lightsaber blade clicked on without conscious thought. It swung upwards in a defensive arc even as Barriss turned, putting her back to his and ignited her blade. The smell of cauterized flesh and the death shriek of the creature plummeted towards them but Anakin's swipe left the creature in two pieces.

"Run!"

Anakin didn't question Barriss' order as she suddenly ducked under his arm, grabbing it as she went by, and sped across the room with Force assisted speed. They dodged, using their lightsabers to clear a pathway where there was none as a swarm of things, of flying _beings_ suddenly descended on them. At an all out run, Anakin and Barriss darted into the tunnel, using their Force assisted speed to get ahead of the flying creatures - only to be met by more in the hallway.

The very walls and ceilings seemed to have sprouted wings, arms and legs, and they were pressed on all sides.

Lightsabers whirled as they fell into a defensive stance, back to back, their lightsabers working in tandem as they moved in a slow circle. Step by cautious step, they fought for ground. Slowly, body parts and the dead littered the path behind them - but the Geonosians kept coming. With no regard for their own lives, they threw themselves at the whirling wall of energy that stopped every attack.

An intersection approached and a quick glanced proved that they weren't likely to be able to get back to the Nabooian ship - the hallway was clogged with a teeming, swarming mass of Geonosians. They blew right by the entrance, breaking free of the surrounding mob and darting down another side passage. They crossed a threshold, the door slamming shut behind them, and the echo of Geonosian bodies slamming into it reverberating through the room they'd entered.

"What now?"

"Plan B." Anakin looked around the room they'd entered. Hauling out his datapad, he flicked it on and called up a readout of the hive - one of the things he'd been able to obtain on their way in. "We're here," he pointed to a section half a dozen levels down from the main hangar bay. "I think - and we need to get here."

"Through that?"

"Hopefully not." Anakin fiddled with the readout. "Ah. Here we go. There's two other entrances to this chamber. One leads from the pits - I think that's their central entertainment area - and the other leads from the creatures pens."

"Creature's pens?" Barriss echoed him incredulous. "They keep animals for sport?"

"It's not uncommon," Anakin replied absently. "And better animals than sentient beings."

"Anakin!"

"What?" He looked up. "If we can release those creatures we should be able to cause enough of a distraction to allow us to escape in the confusion."

"We shouldn't sacrifice them to save us."

"Our death here also serves no purpose. If it really is a trap, we ned to get off planet and intercept the Jedi before they land."

Barriss grimaced. She didn't like it, but she didn't have any better ideas. "Can we get to the landing bay from there?"

"It'll be dicey - we've got to climb up about six levels and likely through corridors like that." He nodded towards the door where the sound of bodies impacting the surface could still be heard.

"No problems then."

"Exactly." Anakin checked the readout one last time and then pocketed it. "Hopefully our Masters will have as much luck as we do and can meet us there."

Barriss didn't respond as she moved to follow Anakin deeper into the dark staging area halls for the arena. If their Masters were able to get to the landing pad - two Masters with one lightsaber between them - she would be very surprised. A sense of foreboding settled in the pit of her stomach as they moved towards their destination. Something phenomenal would have to happen if they were all going to escape intact.

* * *

><p>The halls were quiet as Luminara and Obi-Wan passed through with the signs of their Padawan's passing painfully obvious in the litter of broken bodies and limbs. The walls were hollow, except where one of the Geonosians had crawls in to try and heal, and few obstacles obstructed their pathway.<p>

It also, unfortunately, told the tale of their Padawans inability to get to the Nabooian cruiser.

The diversion caused by Anakin and Barriss had allowed their Masters to escape back to the ship relatively unmolested, but the younger Jedi were pushed deeper into the Hive. Luminara seemed torn between getting back to the ship and going after the Padawans.

Obi-Wan made the decision for them.

"You set up a second rendezvous point, right?"

Luminara nodded, her eyes slightly unfocused as she checked on Barriss through their bond as Master and Padawan. "Anakin insisted."

"For all his faults, he knows his tactics. They're cut off. We are not. I suggest taking the ship to your secondary point so we can extract them there."

"Sound advice, Master Kenobi." Luminara shot him a look. "Being a Master to Anakin must have given you wisdom."

"It's been a long journey. Come on."

* * *

><p>"They're going for the ship."<p>

"I know."

"Shouldn't we try and get back?"

"Too late now." Anakin used an aggressive overhand chop to dismember another Geonosian before whirling to face another. "We're almost at the hangar bay. Knowing Obi-Wan, he'll try and pick us up there."

Barriss gracefully hopped over a strike at her ankles as she decapitated the wielder of the staff. "Then we shouldn't waste any time."

"This," Anakin grunted, "isn't a waste of time; it's called survival."

Barriss turned, dropping the point of her lightsaber towards the floor and stretched out one hand towards the oncoming hallway. Opening herself up to the Force, pulling on her link through Anakin, she tapped into the brilliant essence and _pushed_.

The effect was more than she'd hoped.

Body after body of live Geonosian stumbled backwards, some thrown to the ground, all momentarily stunned by the unexpected invisible attack.

Anakin didn't waste the opportunity. He ducked into the hallway they'd been aiming for and sprinted ahead. Barriss turned with a grin, easing back her connection to the powerful force, and sprinted after him. Anakin turned a corner, opened a hatchway and motioned her through before following. It closed behind them, trapping them together in a five by five space with a ladder leading upwards, and downwards, in one corner.

Their lightsabers were extinguished immediately, throwing the room into darkness.

"I can't climb in the dark."

"Afraid of heights?" His tease echoed upwards.

"Just your flying. I like to be able to see where I'm going through."

"Just a second."

There was the sound of rummaging and then a greenish light emerged from Anakin's hand, illuminating the room weakly. He passed it to Barriss and then cracked a second glow rod with a wink. "I've learned to come prepared. It's _amazing_ what Master Obi-Wan and I need when we think we won't."

"The utility belt?"

He nodded. "They're a good investment."

Barriss rolled her eyes and glanced upwards. The ladder extended into the darkness further than she could see. "After you."

"Nervous?"

She snorted. "I just don't want you looking up my robe."

Anakin laughed, hooking the glow rod through one of his wrist bands before putting his hands and feet on the rungs. With a heave and a slight Force assistance, he jumped into the darkness and grabbed a hold of the ladder further up. He looked back down, his teeth a slash of white in the darkness as he smiled. "They're sturdy - come on!"

Barriss followed his lead, hooking the glow rod through one of her wrist bands before grasping the rungs and using the Force to jump upwards.

They crawled upwards, using the Force every now and again to propel themselves further. Passing two landings, they were able to judge their progress - which was surprisingly unhindered by Geonosians. Barriss' sense of foreboding increased as they climbed, making her jumpy and nervous. Finally, as they emerged on the second last landing some five minutes later for a break, she couldn't keep it in any longer.

"Anakin."

"Hmm?"

"Something's wrong."

He looked up from examining the map of the hive. "Wrong? We're almost home free."

"You don't sense that?"

"Sense what?"

She waved one hand to encompass the level they still had to get to. "The higher we climb, the closer we get to disaster. Like something is waiting, wanting us to fail. To die."

Anakin's brow creased and she could feel him reaching for her through the bond they shared. Opening herself to him, she allowed him to feel the sense of unease that was eating away at her. Even as he did, she could tell he hadn't felt anything.

Was it just nerves about their talk then? Something that was beyond this, beyond the rescue operation? Was it something that had nothing to do with them being on the planet, but everything to do with what would have to happen once they left?

"I don't feel anything, Barriss. Not on my own anyway."

Yet the feeling stayed. Despite it all, the feeling twisted her gut into knots. "I know. I can't explain it."

Anakin was silent. "Then we proceed cautiously together, all right?"

"All right." The tension inside her eased somewhat at Anakin's words, as if they were a part of her trepidation - or rather, his independence was. "You promise you won't go running off without me?"

"Promise." He pushed to his feet. "Come on. I've about had enough of this place."

"Anakin?"

He turned from the ladder, his eyes reflecting blue-green in the light of the glow rod. "Something else on your mind, Barriss?"

She hesitated, opening her mouth to speak but nothing came out. Wetting her lips and swallowing, she tried again. "Could... I... I mean... could we..."

"Could we what?"

She took a deep breath. "Can I have a good luck kiss?"

Anakin's eyes darkened and he stepped towards her. "I thought we agreed to talk about this later."

"We did." She swallowed against the lump in her throat. "And we will. I just... it might help."

"Help what?" He took another step so they were standing face to face, Barriss having to crane her neck to look up at him. His hand lifted, his thumb and forefinger capturing the pointed tip of her chin as he searched her eyes in the dim light. "Your nerves?"

Barriss nodded; it was as good of an excuse as any.

Anakin's head came down slowly, watching her face for any sign of reluctance, but Barriss had none. In this moment, at this time, this was the right thing. She didn't know why, she didn't understand, but it was enough that this _felt _right.

Her eyes closed as his lips met hers.

It was a chaste kiss, a soft kiss - a kiss of promise and question - but it was by far the sweetest kiss they'd ever shared. As Anakin pulled away, the flutter in her stomach eased, almost ceasing all together. The knowledge that they would be facing whatever danger lurked above in wait for them was no longer a cause for unease.

Anakin's kiss had been not only a talisman but a promise - and one she was going to hold him to; they would face what waited together.


	16. Chapter 16

**Part 16**

Emerging onto the level with the docking bay, Anakin and Barriss kept to the shadows of the hallways. These hallways had been lined with duracrete to prevent the nesting of the Geonosians - but it didn't stop the sound. Behind each of the thinly poured walls, they could hear the stirring of the creatures who inhabited this world.

One crack, one break in the wall, and they'd be overwhelmed.

They approached the final turn and Barriss was pulled sharply to a halt by Anakin's hand. She turned to question him, but the look on his face brought her silence. It was twisted as if pained, and fell of foreboding. She waited to see what he would tell her knowing it wouldn't be good.

"There's danger up ahead."

Even as he said the words softly, she felt it. The pure _hate_ radiated from the hangar bay ahead like ripples in a pond. Whatever, _whoever_ waited for them was someone of great power - someone who knew of a Jedi presence and was determined to stop them.

"Should we find another exit?"

Anakin's smile was faint as he unhooked his lightsaber from his belt. "We didn't set up another meeting point. Either we get in there or we won't be leaving."

The pounding on the thin walls around them increased, as if to bolster his words. Barriss knew what he meant - if they didn't head for the hangar bay to meet up with their Masters, they wouldn't survive long enough to find another way out. The Geonosian hive was a maze of death that would eventually drag them both down.

"Then we go forward."

"Whatever happens Barriss, I just want you to-"

"Don't!" Her reply was sharp, cutting him off. "This is still not the time or the place. We're going to get through this, Anakin, and then - whenever that is - we will have that discussion."

"And if one of us falls in the corridor ahead?" He looked beyond to the cavern that awaited them. "I won't let them kill you, Barriss."

"I won't let them kill you either." She stepped close without thinking, needing to touch him again - needing that contact. His hand met hers half way, squeezing tightly. "We're not going to die, Anakin. Whatever's ahead can't best us if we do as planned and work together."

Anakin regarded her intently before nodding once and lifting her hand to his lips. They were warm on the backs of her fingers and moved just slightly, as if saying something important. Then, just when she was going to ask him to speak up, he stopped. His boyish smile appeared and she could practically _see_ what it was he'd been saying in his eyes. Her heart jumped in her chest and picked up its pace as she fought against the knowledge of what he was trying to convey.

She tore her gaze away, turning away as she slipped her hand from his. Taking a deep breath and using the Force to control her breathing, she forced her heart back into its normal rhythm. She couldn't afford the distraction now, especially not now, which is why she'd told him they needed to wait. But could they? Anakin had obviously needed to let her know even in some limited fashion, was she condemning him to distraction if they didn't speak of this immediately?

"Barriss?"

She held up one hand, signaling him to give her a moment of silence. Anakin complied, moving away to keep an eye out, the Force presence up ahead a steady heart beat of hatred. Barriss looked to the Force for guidance, stretching out to it, opening herself as completely as she had before...

Silence.

Nothing.

She was on her own - the Force couldn't help her in this. Yes, it was pushing them together; yes, it was drawing them closer; yes, it was playing a role in the direction their lives were taking. But it wasn't affecting her feelings. It wasn't affecting her heart. And it wasn't something she could deal with now in the midst of adversity when complete focus might mean the difference between life and death.

Barriss made her choice.

Turning back to Anakin she inhaled deeply once more and thrust everything she had just seen in him to the back of her mind. It was pushed into a box and the lid snapped closed - for the moment. She shielded every emotion, every thought regarding Anakin in the same manner - except their bond. She left the tie that bound them alone, somehow knowing that it would play a part in the upcoming conflict. In those moments she sent a plea to her Master to hurry.

"Let's go."

Anakin nodded, turning away, but not before she saw the disappointment in his eyes. She ignored it in favor of the greater danger and slid her lightsaber from its place on her belt. She flexed her fingers around the hilt to get comfortable and stepped up to join him. Anakin's tone was grim, determined, the look he shot her speaking volumes as to his focus.

He wasn't and for a split second Barriss regretted not doing what he needed. A moment after that it was too late.

"Let's do this."

Anakin sprinted forward, Barriss a whisper behind him, as they bee-lined for the bay and the danger that waited.

Emerging into the hangar bay, they pulled up short when they were greeted by an elderly gentleman of aristocratic bearing, his white beard neatly trimmed, a cloak of midnight and crimson framing his black-clad body. He seemed surprised to see them - and only them - come running around the corner.

"Apprentice Jedi?" He laughed, the sound echoing through the cavernous space. "Surely this is a joke."

"No joke, Sith," Anakin told him darkly. "Stand aside if you want to live."

"Such anger, young Jedi. Skywalker, is it not?"

Anakin jerked as if struck, not understanding how the Sith knew his name. "Who are you?"

"My name is Count Dooku. I was Qui-Gon Jinn's Master just as Obi-Wan is yours."

"Dooku," Barriss breathed the word softly, a memory clicking in the back of her mind. "You're one of the lost Jedi!"

"A Jedi no more, young lady."

"Manners mean nothing. You're still a Sith."

"Manners are tantamount to breeding, Skywalker... yours betray lower class upbringing."

Anakin let out a yell, his lightsaber igniting in the same moment.

"Anakin, _no_!"

Anakin didn't heed Barriss as he leapt towards Dooku. Barriss did the only thing she could - she called on the Force, her own blade snapping to life, and lunged in front of him.

Sith lightning sprang from Count Dooku's fingers, striking Barriss' lightsaber near the hilt and ricocheting up her arm.

_"Barriss!"_

She screamed as Anakin plowed into her back, taking them both to the ground even as his lightsaber blade winked out and she was suddenly wrapped in his arms. He lowered to the ground, one eye on the now complacent Count.

"Barriss."

"D-don't let him goad you." She shuddered as the nerves in her body continued to misfire, her lightsaber hilt dropping from nerveless fingers.

Anakin scooped it up, but her hand clutched at the front of his tunic and she shook her head. The tunic slipped away, but Anakin understood what she was trying to convey. Dual blades were tricky and while he was trained to fight in that manner, Dooku would take all of his skill. Sith lightning aside, if Barriss could recover, she would be able to come to his aid.

He tucked the blade inside the front of her tunic and stood, turning to face Dooku in a defensive stance, his blade still off. "You're going to pay for that Dooku."

"Attachments are forbidden to the Jedi, young Skywalker. Surely your Master does not approve."

"My Master is on his way right now," Anakin told him darkly. He could hear the whine of the Nabooian engines cutting through the atmosphere - he just didn't know how close they were. "Why don't you ask him when he gets here?"

"Although your choice is not very commendable, I cannot say I blame you for forming an attachment to one such as her," his tone darkened at the end of the sentence, as though what he said was almost despicable in his own ears. "She is very beautiful, from a certain point of view."

"Keep away from her!"

Dooku's saber came up as Anakin leapt in with an over handed chop, too close for the Count to throw lightning bolts and too quickly for anything but reaction. The battle was joined, Anakin keeping his back to Barriss and focusing on moving the Count _away_ from her. He wasn't going to let this villain get his hands on Barriss - not even if it killed him.

Anakin parried a difficult series of jabs and slashes, spinning in place but never giving Dooku the chance to move by him. His determination fueled his fighting style, keeping him on the defensive even when Dooku gave him an opening. He didn't attack after that first over handed blow, simply held his ground and allowed Dooku to attack him.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Barriss joined him. Through their bond, she calmed his anger and soothed his unease, giving him the chance to fight with a clear head. Anakin's movements became more fluid as his mind cleared. Barriss eased his fears, feeding him information on her recovery from her injuries even as she helped him to focus.

Dooku suddenly leapt away, back flipping to stand on the fins of one of the ships. "What is this?"

"What is what, Dooku?" Anakin taunted. "Am I too much for an old man like you?"

Dooku's gaze shot behind Anakin to where Barriss was picking herself shakily off the ground. "Not only you, Skywalker. Alone you would never have that kind of control. You have _help_..."

Barriss stumbled as her muscles went into a spasm, sending her to the ground and she stretched her hands out to catch herself. Dooku took the opening as Anakin's attention was divided and lifted one hand.

_"Barriss!"_

She let out a gasp of protest as a Force grip scooped her from the floor and sent her flying towards the vaulted ceiling. Hanging rock protrusions arced down towards her, threatening serious injury should she strike one.

_"NO!"_ Anakin stretched out both hands, _reaching_ for her to slow her ascent, to buffer her; anything to keep her from striking the stones with force.

Her momentum slowed considerably and she was able to turn within the grip to avoid smashing her head on the rocks. She screamed as the grip suddenly released her and she went plummeting back towards the ground.

Anakin, paying little heed to Dooku, channeled the Force and leapt.

Barriss choked off her scream as she fell, trying to calm herself enough to find some way of slowing her descent - only to clutch Anakin in relief as his arms came about her. Fully in control, fuelled by his protective desire to see no harm come to her, Anakin swept his arms about her tightly and focused on his landing. So completely did he focus that it wasn't until Barriss slipped from his grasp as he landed heavily that he felt a burning sensation.

"Anakin!"

Barriss was up and out of his arms in a heartbeat, her horror palatable as his right arm dropped away from his body, severed just above the elbow. The humming red blade that had cut through muscle and bone like butter swept back and Barriss didn't think - she reacted.

Blue crossed with red as she drove in before Dooku could land a killing blow. Deflecting the blade upwards she followed up with a lightning fast jab that put Dooku on the defensive and forced him to step back or be impaled. Barriss followed, deflecting blows rained down towards her head and shoulders, righteous fire fueling the energy coursing through her veins.

Dooku reversed quickly, going on the counter attack as he deflected one of Barriss' attacks wide and put her on the defensive.

Giving as little ground as possible, Barriss found her focus. Learning from Anakin's example, she let go. The discipline melted away, her mind blanked of all teachings - there was only the Force. Dooku gained no more ground as Barriss opened herself to the full vestiges of the Force, her skin taking on an almost translucent hue as her lightsaber worked as an extension of her will.

Dooku's blade was an impenetrable wall, something she couldn't penetrate, something she couldn't breech.

The whine of a repulsor engine was loud in the bay and Barriss spun away as the Force sounded a warning barely a half second before the blast of a turbo laser exploded into the bay. Dooku vanished into the smoke as the Nabooian cruiser landed, the whine of the engines dying as Barriss scanned the area for the Sith. The echo through the cavern masked an sound the Sith would have made so she was forced to rely on her ears.

Nothing.

No sign, not a hint.

The skin on the back of her neck tingled and she whirled, her lightsaber coming up barely in time to catch the descending red blade. Barriss stumbled under the power behind the blow, going down on one knee as she poured her strength into her arms to keep that blade from going further.

It inched downwards, coming slowly towards her face, the red glow encompassing the Count in her eyes and lending him a more malevolent look.

"Leave her be, Dooku."

"Ah, Luminara Unduli." Dooku kicked out almost casually, striking Barriss in the side of the head. "How good of you to join us."

Anakin's face swam before Barriss' eyes as she was sent sprawling across his body. The sound of the lightsaber retracting for a killing blow somewhere behind her; she closed her eyes, dropping her forehead to rest against Anakin's collar bone.

A sudden jerk had her grasping Anakin's tunic and struggling not to be violently ill across it as they shot across the floor and the familiar figure of her Master darted past. The blur around her coalesced into the form of Anakin's Master as Obi-Wan knelt next to them with a concerned look on his face. "Are you alright?"

Her head was aching, the room spinning, and the sound of lightsabers clashing somewhere behind her was adding to a strange buzzing in her ears. "Anakin?"

Obi-Wan turned his attention to his apprentice, one look seeming to tell him everything he needed. "He's out cold."

Barriss closed her eyes at the grim tone. Unconsciousness was likely a blessing to Anakin. She'd seen the injury, but hadn't had to deal with it yet. His arm lay somewhere behind them, his lightsaber likely still gripped in fingers that would never again work.

"Barriss."

Her head spun, his voice sounding like it came from far away.

"_Barriss_." Obi-Wan's hand fell on her shoulder. "Are you alright?"

Brown eyes opened, clearing by the second as the knock on her head receded and left behind a dull throbbing. "I'll live."

"Try and get him to the ship; I need to help Luminara."

The sound of clashing blades grew louder as Obi-Wan stretched out his hand and called Anakin's lightsaber to him. Barriss watched for a moment as Obi-Wan joined Luminara and, together, they drove the Sith Lord away from the shuttle. Her gaze went back to Anakin and then beyond him to the shuttle that awaited. Taking a deep breath she drew on an inner reserve of strength she hadn't known existed and began to move.


	17. Chapter 17

**Part 17**

"Master Kenobi." Dooku parried another blow with an easy smile before intercepting Luminara's slash at his midsection. "I had thought an apprentice of yours would have been more of a challenge."

Obi-Wan spun away as a rock came flying towards the back of Luminara's head, intercepting the missile with the blade of his lightsaber even as Dooku pressed in for a quick thrust against the Mirilian Jedi. Despite the timing, Dooku didn't send Luminara into Obi-Wan's blade as he'd intended. The woman instead folded herself over backwards, avoiding both his strike and Obi-Wan's blade as the blue of the human Master's lightsaber whipped in to parry a slash directed towards Luminara's mid-section.

Luminara's blade was up a heart beat later, deflecting the rocks and equipment Dooku continued to pour in their direction with seeming ease. Not only was the man powerful, he was powerful enough to split his attention between two difficult tasks.

"Sith are known to cheat." Obi-Wan ducked and jumped over a quick high-low combination. "In a fair fight, Anakin would have been more than a challenge."

Dooku's chuckle was almost lazy. "Your apprentice was not fighting fair, Master Kenobi. Or were you not aware of his connection to the alien?"

The contempt in Dooku's voice was plain, his disgust evident. Dooku had ever been of the opinion that Humans should be the only Jedi and not sully their ranks with aliens.

Obi-Wan faltered for a brief moment and Dooku's lightsaber dived in, taking advantage of his distraction. Luminara whirled between them, her blade intercepting the Count's mere centimeters away from striking Obi-Wan. Dooku took the opportunity to _push_ and Obi-Wan was sent sprawling backwards, skidding along the ground.

"I see you were not."

Luminara's blade was a ribbon of color as it danced and arced gracefully to intercept Dooku's attacks. "Whatever you believe, Dooku, you are wrong."

"Am I, _Master_ Unduli?" The Count stepped backwards, drawing Luminara with him as Obi-Wan regained his feet. "You are more Force blind than I first believed."

An explosion rocked the hangar bay and hundreds of Geonosians suddenly swarmed through the new hole in the wall leading directly into the hive. They poured through the gap, effectively Obi-Wan off from Luminara and Count Dooku and leaving the Mirilian Jedi Master to face him alone.

Obi-Wan _pushed_ tossing the first wave back as he attempted to move forward, but the stream of aliens continued, those cast aside immediately replaced by more.

He couldn't get through them.

_"Luminara!"_

"_Go_, Obi-Wan!"

He stood, torn for a moment between duty and acceptance before Luminara's presence shone from beyond the chaos. She knew hat she was doing; she accepted it. He could feel a build up through the Force as he did and, making his decision, spun on his heel to sprint for the Nabooian cruiser.

_"Master!"_

Obi-Wan caught Barriss around the waist as he ran up the ramp, hauling her back inside and hitting the button to close the ramp as he did.

"What are you doing, my Master is still out there! We have to help her; let me go!"

Obi-Wan paused long enough to set Barriss down, but his hands clamped down hard on her shoulders and he forced her to face him. "She's made her choice; don't let her sacrifice be in vain."

Barriss went still, as if not comprehending his words, the meaning behind them refusing to sink in.

Luminara's Force presence blazed between them, connected to each one in their own unique way, and Power rippled through the hangar bay as the Mirilian Master tapped into the very core of her powers, accepting her fate, giving them time to escape.

With no more time to spare, Obi-Wan left Barriss in the main room of the cruiser without sparing a glance for his still unconscious Padawan, and sprinted for the cockpit. He reached for the weapon controls, but even as he did, Luminara's voice echoed through his mind.

_Go, Obi-Wan. Now._

_I have to try._

_Do or do not; there is no try. Get them to safety!_

Obi-Wan's hands moved of their own accord from the firing controls to the piloting. The engines were already warmed up and waiting. He paused, reaching back to Luminara through the Force as his fingers hovered over the controls. The sound of weapons striking the hull reverberated dully through the ship as the Geonosians struggled to get inside.

_Goodbye, Ara._

There was a brief moment of warmth, an answering burst through the Force as his hands worked independent of his mind, unable to see what he was doing for the tears that blurred his vision, and the Nabooian cruiser leapt off the landing pad. As it shot from the hangar bay, Luminara's presence glowed with approval - and then winked out completely.

* * *

><p>Barriss sat huddled in the rear compartment of the Nabooian transport, her arms wrapped around her shins, her face buried in her knees, attempting to come to grips with the void that had suddenly opened up where her bond with Luminara had been. She was shaking, unable to contain the emotional upheaval that tore through her system - ill equipped to deal with it despite the waters she and Anakin had been exploring.<p>

This was something else - something different and she didn't know how to cope.

"Barriss."

Lifting her head, she found Obi-Wan Kenobi crouched in front of her. His expression held compassion and understanding. His history was well known in the order - the story of his knighting after losing his Master and killing a Sith Lord - and he was likely the only person who had an inkling of what she was feeling at that very moment. She regarded him solemnly, noting the slight redness to his eyes and the pain that lurked in the depths of those orbs.

His relationship with her Master hadn't been one that Barriss fully understood, but it had been at the very least one born of mutual respect and friendship. Obi-Wan might not have lost his Master that day, as he had ten years earlier, but he'd lost someone who'd helped shape him into the Jedi he'd become none the less.

"How did you deal with this?"

Obi-Wan reached out to place one hand on her shoulder. "I had Anakin to train." Pain flickered more prominently to life at the mention of his Padawan - and the memory of his new injuries. "It was my Master's last request, and one I felt the need to honor with or without the council's approval."

"At least you were given one."

"At the time I'd wished he'd asked anything else of me but that."

"Why?"

"I didn't feel I was ready to train another even if he believed I was. I thought myself ready to face the trials; the battle where he died made me rethink my position. The council agreed with him and I was given Anakin to train."

"So what am I supposed to do?" Barriss swallowed hard on the words. "Can I be assigned another Master?"

"That is for the council to decide, Barriss." Silence descended for a moment and Obi-Wan removed his hand. "We can't know what the council intends, but any Master would be lucky to have a Padawan like you."

What he didn't say was that there were no other Mirilian Jedi Masters at the moment, which would make reassigning her impossible. Without a Master from her home planet, her apprenticeship would be at an end and her career in the order now hung in the balance.

Obi-Wan sensed her trepidation and offered a warm, reassuring smile. "She wanted you to be a Jedi Knight, Barriss You could do worse for ways to honor her memory."

Hesitantly she nodded once and then found a smile. "She always said you were wiser than she was."

"My Master Qui-Gon used to say the same thing. One day, I might believe them."

Barriss eased the hold on her legs and inhaled deeply. Nothing had been set in concrete for her future in the Jedi order, but she did know one thing. Her Master had wanted something for her, something that a part of her wanted more than anything despite the Force pushing her towards Anakin. Obi-Wan was right; her Master had wanted her to be a Jedi Knight. It was the path she had walked since she was a child; the path she had walked through maturity; the path she had walked until meeting Anakin Skywalker.

It was the path she still continued to walk despite that meeting and the urging from the Force to explore things beyond her depth.

Obi-Wan made to move away, but Barriss stopped him with a soft question.

"Does the pain ever fade, Master Kenobi?"

He stopped, as if reading several layers into her question - and indeed he might have - for when he turned his eyes were guarded. "Jedi learn to release their pain into the Force, Barriss. They learn to accept death as a part of life. They - _we_ have learned that all things must come to an end in their own time."

"Does that help?"

Rising to his feet, his gaze strayed to where Anakin lay, still unconscious, on the medical cot across the room. "What helps are the good friends you surround yourself with and the knowledge that, in some way, you live up to their memory."

Hearing what he wasn't saying, she nodded even though he was looking away. She understood. The pain never left but in time you became numb to it. You learned to live with it, to draw strength from its source. In time it eased into acceptance and in that acceptance a Jedi could find peace.

In time, she too would find peace.


	18. Chapter 18

**Epilogue**

Luminara Unduli's sacrifice on Geonosis was felt throughout the Jedi Order; it was an assassination of one of their own; a call for war.

Anakin and Barriss' message, and the warning from Luminara, had saved the lives of countless Jedi who had been en-route to rescue them. It was a case of the needs of the many out weighing the needs of the one and for many in the order; the trade was more than fair.

Yet, it was also a sacrifice many saw and envied as the ultimate form of sacrifice; to give one's life for friends. She'd been a well liked Master. At the time of her death, Master Yoda - having retrieved the clones from Kamino and entering orbit around Geonosis - launched an attack in an attempt to remove Count Dooku as a threat.

The attack failed, but exposed the Trade Federation and Separatist ties on Geonosis. It also revealed the Clone army of the Republic, led by Jedi, to be a devastating force.

Obi-Wan Kenobi never broached the subject of the strange bond between Barriss and Anakin with either of them on the trip back to Coruscant; he chose to ignore the Count's reference in favor of quiet meditation and contemplation, spending much time communing with the Force. He chose to trust his Padawan.

Anakin Skywalker was fitted with a prosthetic arm shortly after returning to Coruscant. Withdrawn, he'd spent much of his time alone learning to master the use of the new hand.

Barriss was called before a hastily assembled council where she was promoted to the rank of Jedi Knight for her bravery and skill during her confrontation with Count Dooku. Master Obi-Wan Kenobi had supported her Knighting in the place of her deceased Master, a motion that had been well received despite the similarity to his own strange Knighting ceremony.

Barriss, her Padawan braid gone, left the presence of the council to meditate on the matter only to find there were few places she could go that were secluded. Her chambers had once been shared by her Master and held memories of better times, before the war's beginning, and times that could never be again.

Mindful of the promises she'd made on Geonosis, to both her Master and to Anakin, she let the Force guide her steps and was unsurprised to find them leading back to him and the discussion they'd put off...

The room of a thousand fountains was the one place inside the Jedi Temple you could be surrounded by people and still hold a private discussion. The noise, while soothing, also had a dampening effect and one that would be essential for the delicate matter they needed to discuss.

Unable to see Anakin, she followed her instincts and found him tucked back into one of the corners. He was hunched over something in his lap instead of doing the exercises that the Jedi Healers had recommended. They'd been unable to recover his real hand and so he was learning to make do with the mechanical marvel they'd assigned him. He didn't hear her approach, her steps muffled by the fountains, but she wasn't the least surprised when he spoke without looking up.

"How'd things go with the council?"

"Your Master would say as expected."

"And what do you say?"

"They don't have another Master for me."

He looked up. "So what happens now?"

She shrugged. Having left her hood up and her head wrap firmly in place, Anakin wouldn't be able to see the difference in her hair cut. "Obi-Wan would say we trust in the Force."

Anakin regarded her with the first stirrings of alarm spreading through his gaze. "They can't very well send you to Agri-Corp; you're practically ready for your trials!"

Warmth spread through her at his words but she couldn't resist teasing him. "Are you going to plead my case for the council, Ani? Make them see things from your point of view?"

"I would!" He grinned at her but the mirth quickly faded. "You still didn't answer my question."

"Was there a question in there?" She folded her hands inside her robe, enjoying teasing him. Her Knighting was fresh enough he hadn't yet heard about it. "I didn't hear one."

"For someone who's about to be stripped of a fairly prestigious rank, you're taking it rather well."

"I never said I was going to be stripped of my rank."

"Then what are they doing with you? They're not-" He stared at her, his eyes widening. "Are they going to Knight you?"

Barriss reached into one pocket and stepped forward to drop the contents on the datapad in his lap. Anakin stared at it, his emotions flickering across his face before he could shield them. Pride. Joy. Envy. He gingerly reached down to scoop it up, running the long weave of hair through his fingers - the proof she was no longer a Padawan and now his senior in rank.

"Knighted. Past Tense. I may not have killed a Sith Lord, but I faced one and lived."

"Then why are you worried?" Anakin searched her face, catching the flicker of uncertainty he would have missed if he'd blinked. "Being a Knight is everything you wanted."

"Not everything." She met his gaze squarely. "And now I'm less open to exploring it than before."

"What do you mean?"

"You're a Padawan; I'm a Knight."

"You don't mean-"

"I'm afraid I do," her smile was sad. "We - _I_ can't keep exploring whatever is between us, Anakin. If we're caught it means serious sanctions. We have a job to do now that we're at war, one that doesn't include discovering whatever it is that's built between us."

"I can't just turn it off, Barriss." Anakin looked pained, like she was putting a knife in his gut. "It's not that simple; this is bigger than either you or I."

"I know - which is why we can't pursue it right now."

"I don't understand," his words were frustrated, "you reached for me on Geonosis. We've been through so much and now you're turning your back on me. Why? What have I done?"

"You scare me."

Anakin stared at her, the datapad and cut length of her braid dangling from his hand as he leaned his elbows forward on his knees. Barriss finally caught a glimpse of what he was working on - a diagram for a custom built mechanical arm or perhaps how to modify the one he currently wore. His voice was devoid of emotion and dull when he spoke again, bringing her back from the momentary diversion.

"I scare you."

"You've taught me what it is to harness my natural potential, to move beyond the limits the Jedi placed on me and that's worrisome."

"How is reaching your full abilities worrisome?"

"It's the method. Emotions are controlled by Jedi for a reason. They're volatile and unpredictable. They can be used against you as we saw against Dooku. If you hadn't been worried about my safety, you could have fought him and won."

"And you'd be dead."

"Is that such a great sacrifice?"

Anakin was on his feet in a heartbeat, grasping her shoulders between his and giving her a shake. "Don't you _ever_ ask me that! _Ever!_ I'm sorry you lost your Master, but I'm not sorry she died instead of you. Padmé's death nearly crippled me, Barriss. You helped me through that, you helped me see beyond those dreams, to build new ones. I couldn't have done it, moved beyond that, without you."

"You're stronger than you give yourself credit for."

"I wish you were right."

"Aren't I?"

He shook his head. "No. Your death would kill me."

"Anakin..."

"Don't push me away, Barriss. Don't shut me out. What's between us is bigger than us; you know it."

"That's why it's dangerous!" She pulled out of his grip with a glare. "Don't you see? If we were to pursue this, it could take us all sorts of dangerous places. You're a Padawan; I'm a Knight. Both of us would be expelled and exiled. Is that what you want?"

"No... no. But I don't want to lose you either."

Barriss inhaled deeply. "Are you expecting to die sometime soon, Anakin?"

"Hadn't planned on it."

"Neither do I. While we're both alive, whatever's grown between us will stay. Your Master and mine are proof of that."

"Obi-Wan?"

Barriss nodded.

"No way."

"It's true. My Master told me so herself."

"But attachments are forbidden."

"To Padawans who do not understand the tenets of the code or how to avoid the pitfalls." She poked him in the chest. "Like you."

"So what are you proposing exactly?"

"Until you're Knighted there can't be anything more between us than there already is."

"Until I'm Knighted." He exhaled on a sigh. "And until then?"

"We keep in touch. We communicate. And I learn what Knights do when they don't yet have a Padawan."

"Is this what you want?"

"It's the way it has to be, Anakin."

"And the insistence of the Force? I crave your kiss, Barriss - your hands on my back or caressing my face. Even now I can feel it pushing me to act rashly."

"Control, Padawan Skywalker." She smiled faintly. "If nothing else, it will be good practice."

"Now you sound like my Master - and yours."

"I'll eventually be asked to pick a Padawan; you're good for practice until then."

"Joy. That's the second question you've been disinclined to answer."

"Until your Knighted-." she was starting to sound like a broken audio recording.

His eyes gleamed with intent. "And after I'm Knighted?"

A smile curved her lips before she could stop it. "If the bond between us is as strong and volatile as it is now, we'll discuss it."

"I look forward to that discussion, Barriss."

Unable to help herself she grasped his hand and squeezed. "So do I, Anakin."

Purpose lining every inch of his posture, Anakin lifted her hand to his lips and gently kissed the back of it. "Then I take my leave, Knight Offee, before I do something rash."

Barriss nodded, dismissing him, and Anakin moved beyond her to depart.

"Anakin?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't get yourself killed."

"With a promise like that, I intend to collect. May the Force be with you, Barriss."

"And you, Anakin."

"And Barriss?"

She cocked her head at him.

"Congratulations. You earned it."

_fin_

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> Yes, I know I left it open for a sequel. Yes, I know there's a lot of unanswered questions. There are two Vignettes that will go up shortly that are directly tied to this story. One is an Anakin and Obi-Wan Vignette, the other an Anakin and Barriss. Also, the bunnies are already breeding for an RotS AU... so much so, that I have notes and a basic timeline already... no idea when I'm going to start it though.

Thanks for reading everyone, huge thanks to a friend of mine, Brentus, for betaing the parts with Dooku and giving me some much needed insight to his character. Big thank you to all my readers, you guys have been just wonderful and a shout out to those who are reading and say I never kill anyone off - you know who you are - and I have to say this:

I just killed two major characters in the space of one story. How many more will it take? :p

*grin* Just kidding ;)

Thanks for reading guys, you've been an awesome audience!


End file.
